Roundtable: What Kerr Kriisa means for UK

This week former Arizona and West Virginia guard Kerr Kriisa became the latest player from the NCAA transfer portal to announce he will be joining Mark Pope's first team in Lexington.

Here are takes from Cats Illustrated staff members on what that might mean.

Jeff Drummond: Admittedly, I was not aware Kerr Kriisa was with West Virginia last season. I was familiar with his play at Arizona, but I had lost track of him in 2023-24, most likely due to the Mountaineers’ struggles in the rugged Big 12. They didn’t seem to be on TV as often as they were under Bob Huggins’ direction. What I recall of Kriisa at Arizona, though, was impressive. The native of Estonia has always been a tough, gritty competitor and has done a nice job of distributing the ball to his teammates at each stop along the way. He’s got a career 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio to go along with 10 points per game and 37% shooting from the arc. Last season, the percentage from long range improved to almost 43% He’s a really good complement to Lamont Butler and Koby Brea in the backcourt. The Cats are going to have a ton of experience, toughness, and shot-making ability from guys who have been battle-tested.

David Sisk: Kerr Kriisa is going to have days where he will be the favorite son in Kentucky. There are going to be others where he will make fans cringe. The goal for Kriisa and Mark Pope is to have a lot more of the good days. There is plenty to like. He led the PAC 12 in assists in back to back years. He was the first player to do that on over 20 years. He can shoot, defend, and run a team. He is an alpha competitor, and that is where the intrigue starts. There are going to be antics. He is the guy that’s going to get under the other team’s skin. He can win games, but he can get carried away and hurt his team as well. I like the addition. I think every team needs a player like this. He’s just got to stay as close to that line as he can without stepping over.

Justin Rowland: This is a very solid addition. Kriisa is another glue guy with a long, steady track record of production on both ends of the court. He's not your best player, but he's a part that makes the whole better and others will benefit from having him on the court. The native of Estonia will play good defense, share the ball, and can get hot and go for 20+ on some nights. He strengthens the backcourt on both ends of the court and that was something Kentucky needed. Some of their players are more one-way types, or they're clearly valuable because of traits on offense or on defense. Kriisa gives them a lot in only one scholarship and has played a ton of basketball at this level in good conferences.