The Kentucky Wildcats have a fascinating problem in that Mark Pope brought in a pantry full of riches in the transfer portal. There are literally 10 players that could be starters on any team in the NCAA, and somehow, he will need to come up with not only a starting five but a rotation of around 8-10. It could be as high as a 10-player rotation, but that isn't very common in college basketball. This is a good problem to have, but projecting the starting lineup is a legitimate problem. In this article, I want to make the case for Kerr Kriisa to be the starting point guard. You can read the case for Lamont Butler to be the starting point guard here.
Kriisa became a star at Arizona in his sophomore season when he exploded onto the scene. He dominated in two statistical categories: assists and three-point shooting. He led the Pac-12 in assists with 155 and made 80 three-point shots. He recorded his first triple-double in a game against Utah, scoring 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. He was absolutely fantastic at the point guard position for Arizona.
In his junior year, it was more of the same for the Arizona Wildcats, except up another notch. Kriisa led the Pac-12 again in assists with 178. He increased his three-point percentage by 3%, taking it from 33% in his sophomore year to 36%. He finished that season averaging 9.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 5.14 assists per game.
In his senior year, Kriisa transferred to West Virginia, where he started every single game, averaging 11 points and 4.7 assists. He averaged more points a game and did it more efficiently, increasing his field goal percentage to 42.9 and his three-point percentage to 42.4.
He now enters his free COVID season at Kentucky as a fifth-year senior. His role has only grown year after year; in his freshman year, he averaged 22.9 minutes in eight games (after he was deemed eligible by the NCAA). In his sophomore year, he played 29.6 minutes, then as a junior, 31.1, and finally, last year, 33.5 minutes a game last year. His resume is impressive, not only in terms of distributing the ball and making clutch threes. He has played for multiple tournament teams at Arizona.
There is so much evidence to think that Kriisa will be the starting point guard. He knows how to get key play-makers the ball, he has veteran experience in big games, he can make a clutch three from the point, and he can also dash to the hole when the lane opens up. There's a lot to like about the Kentucky Wildcats, with Kriisa running the point.
The hard part of picking Kriisa over Butler is that they are different styles of point guard. I wouldn't even be surprised to see them on the floor at the same time as they run the point uniquely. Kriisa loves to distribute the basketball and take outside shots. While Butler has an aggressive and effective defensive style with a ability to crash into the paint and get his assists from throwing it back out.
The case for Kriisa may be in his ability to get the ball to all the playmakers in this Wildcats offense. However, there's a really strong case for Butler too, we will have to see how Pope uses these two point guards.