West Virginia Basketball: Kerr Kriisa set to make his Mountaineer debut

Kerr Kriisa will make his debut on Saturday against UMass. This West Virginia Basketball team is in great need of the reinforcements that he can provide.

West Virginia Basketball (4-5) has gotten off to a less than ideal start for the 2023-2024 college basketball season. With that being said, the cards have been stacked against this program in more ways than one. It is hard to blame anyone on the current coaching staff or roster for the 4-5 start this season.

However, there is still reason for excitement, and that reason is found in the transfer point guard Kerr Kriisa. Kriisa’s 9-game suspension for receiving impermissible benefits while at the University of Arizona, has come to an end. Kriisa is set to make his WVU debut on the road against UMass this Saturday night at 6:30.

What should Mountaineer fans expect from the Arizona transfer? 

West Virginia fans know that adding Kerr Kriisa to this struggling Mountaineer team automatically makes them better, but how much better can this team be?

During his previous 2 seasons at Arizona, Kriisa averaged nearly 10 points and 5 assists per game. As the starting point guard for a talented Wildcats team, Kriisa knows a thing or two about contributing to winning basketball at a high-level program. Over the course of his last two seasons in the Arizona program, Kriisa helped lead the Wildcats to a combined record of 61-11.

Kriisa is a true point guard, something the Mountaineers desperately need. While Kobe Johnson has been good in spurts this season, Kriisa’s ability to lead an offense at that position will make a big difference for this team.

In addition to his ability to pass the ball, Kriisa is a proven scorer. While he averaged nearly 10 points per game last season, he was tied for 4th on the team in scoring. With the Mountaineers, Kriisa will likely be asked to score the ball more than he did at Arizona. He will likely be the team’s best 3-point shooting guard. Last season, Kriisa shot 36.3% from 3-point territory on 6.5 attempts per game.

Slowly but surely the Mountaineers are gaining some reinforcements. Akok Akok made his team debut against Pitt last Wednesday, and saw action again in the WVU win over Drexel on Saturday evening. RaeQuan Battle and WVU are still making an effort for his eligibility this season. After having his wavier denied by the NCAA, Battle has since filed a lawsuit against the NCAA. If the NCAA chooses to do the right thing by clearing Battle to play this season, the 4-5 Mountaineers may just be able to turn their season around thanks to the December reinforcements of Akok, Kriisa, and Battle.

Kerr Kriisa’s WVU debut:

West Virginia at UMass | Saturday, December 16th | 6:30 PM | ESPNU