How Should WVU Feel About Their Chances on Landing Kerr Kriisa?

West Virginia recently hosted Arizona transfer guard Kerr Kriisa last weekend. Kriisa is one of the top players currently in the transfer portal and WVU’s coaching staff has made it a priority to land Kriisa. So how should West Virginia feel?

The short answer, they should feel comfortable. Here’s the long answer.

Kriisa entered the portal last week with many Power-5 programs targeting the former Wildcat. West Virginia contacted Kriisa within minutes of his name entering the system, which is pivotal in transfer portal recruiting. If a team is not contacting you right away, they’re already behind.

Kriisa, who started three years at Arizona and was a part of two NCAA Tournament teams, traveled across the country to visit WVU from Saturday to Monday. WVU G Jose Perez was Kriisa’s host during the weekend. Visiting a school in the transfer portal is much different from visiting a school during high school. Guys in the portal will have fewer opportunities to visit as their recruitment time period is much shorter. Kriisa wouldn’t have even entertained the idea of visiting West Virginia if he wasn’t interested. Sources told WV Sports Now that the visit did go well.

The reigning Pac-12 assist leader has also taken a trip to Nebraska to visit what Fred Hoiberg has to offer. Hoiberg has coached the Cornhuskers to a tenure-high 16 wins this past season, finishing 9-11 in the Big Ten. Kriisa to Nebraska sounds far-fetched but if he’s visiting, there’s some interest.

Kriisa’s main connection through his early transfer process is with Xavier and old head coach Sean Miller. Miller recruited and coached Kriisa at Arizona during his freshman season. Once Miller departed, Kriisa stuck it out with Tommy Lloyd for two years. It’s unknown if Kriisa will visit Xavier but it doesn’t seem like a priority since he knows what he’s getting out of Miller.

Kriisa played 35 games for the Wildcats this past season, averaging 9.9 points and 5.1 assists per game. The Estonia native shot 36 percent from three.

West Virginia landing Kriisa would be a great start to their transfer portal offseason. It could set the tone for the offseason and help bring in even more players. This is similar to when West Virginia picked up Erik Stevenson last year from South Carolina and it started the domino effect of additions.

All WVU can do is sit and wait but until then the ball is in Kriisa’s court.