Huggins’ resignation seemingly created a mass exodus at West Virginia. Kriisa, forward Tre Mitchell and guard Joe Toussaint are all back in the portal. And the chaos could certainly continue, with center Jesse Edwards and wing RaeQuan Battle also being candidates to re-enter the portal.
Memphis, Nebraska, Illinois, Xavier, Cincinnati and Indiana are all involved with Kriisa per sources.
Nebraska nearly got Kriisa the first time around before ultimately losing him to West Virginia. Memphis, meanwhile, wasn’t much of a player for Kriisa a few months ago.
The addition of Rick Stansbury to Memphis’ staff, however, looks to have changed things on that front. In a recruitment that will be mostly centered around NIL, Stansbury fares as well as just about anyone.
With this in mind, Memphis and Nebraska could definitely end up being the main contenders for Kriisa.
Memphis is involved with West Virginia G Kerr Kriisa, per multiple sources.
Averaged 9.9 PTS on 36.6% 3PT last season for Arizona.
Kriisa would be a massive addition to Memphis’ backcourt.
Though the Tigers already have a lead guard in Caleb Mills, Kriisa would be a more prototypical point guard option for Memphis. UCF transfer Jayhlon Young is a talented player, but he can’t handle those responsibilities alone. Kriisa’s 5.1 assists per game last season at Arizona would provide a big boost for Memphis’ playmaking.
The 6-foot-3 guard also averaged 9.9 points and 2.4 rebounds per game while shooting 36.6% from three-point range in 2023. And while Memphis is a better shooting team than most think without Kriisa, the Tartu, Estonia native would instantly be the Tigers’ best option from the perimeter.
Ball security is something of an issue for Kriisa, however. He averaged 2.6 turnovers per game last season. But Memphis projects as a fantastic defensive team this year, so it’d likely be able to withstand some of Kriisa’s mistakes.
The Tigers’ main priority, however, is obviously DeAndre Williams’ waiver situation. His presence in the frontcourt is now even more important following Chandler Lawson’s departure to Arkansas.
Mikey Williams’ status for next year is also unknown. The 4-star recruit’s preliminary hearing for his 6 gun-related felony charges was postponed from June 29 to July 12 last week.
Memphis’ pursuit of Kriisa, though, might be an indicator of where things are headed with Mikey Williams.
Senior Editor for Tiger Blueprint. See more of my work on Bluff City Media, where I’m the Memphis basketball beat writer, the Men in Hoodies podcast on Apple and Spotify and on “Sports with Roman Cleary” live on University of Memphis Radio—The ROAR Fridays from 3-4 p.m. during the fall and spring.
