Kerr Kriisa ‘at peace’ with decision to transfer from Arizona

Mar 23, 2023 - 2:00 PM

In true fashion, Kerr Kriisa didn’t shy away from addressing his decision to depart Arizona and enter the NCAA transfer portal.

Speaking on A Nameless Podcast with co-hosts Pelle Larsson and Josh Kahn, Kriisa gave some clarity behind his decision to transfer, albeit without going into too many specifics.

“Honestly I just think it was good for a fresh start for me and obviously for the program,” Kriisa said. “I’m very grateful and thankful for the three years I was here. Looking around nowadays college basketball, there’s not a lot of guys who would be in one place for three years.

“I’m really happy I got into a good situation. Great coaches. So I just feel really calm inside. I’m really happy, happy meaning I’m happy with my decision. Of course it’s sad to leave Tucson but it is what it is.”

Asked by Larsson whether he’s at peace with his decision, Kriisa responded, “If I’m at peace? Yeah.”

Kriisa didn’t elaborate more on why he’s transferring but did show self-awareness to some of the criticism lofted at his style of play.

Told by Kahn that he was in the top five in the Pac-12 in assist to turnover ratio, Kriisa deadpanned, “All Kerr does is turn the ball over though.”

In the 43-minute podcast episode, Kriisa and Larsson also talked about Arizona’s stunning loss to Princeton in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

“Defensively we were there,” Kriisa said. “We had a few bad defensive possessions but you can’t really complain when the opposite team scores 59 points. That’s pretty good.”

Kriisa said Princeton did a “great job” defensively by breaking Arizona’s rhythm.

Larsson added, “They knew they couldn’t stop everything, obviously, but they chose shots to give us, which are good shots and we have a top-three offense in the country. Those are not our good shots.”

Larsson also addressed his postgame locker room comments when he said that Arizona didn’t play with enough energy.

“In the postgame interviews, maybe you shouldn’t have said some of the things you said but at that point you’re so emotional and tired. The last thing we want to do when we lose a March Madness game like that is have 20 minutes media in our locker room.

“You’re kind of pissed off. You’re sad that it’s the last game with your team. I was just being honest, saying what I actually felt. I feel like in college basketball, the team that has the more energy usually wins. So it should be pretty obvious for those who watched. It shouldn’t be crazy breaking news that I said something.”

The podcast lightens up from there, as Kriisa and Larsson talked about what made the season a success before delving into some lighter subjects like what is their favorite Taylor Swift song.

A Nameless Podcast isn’t going anywhere, the hosts assured, which means Arizona fans can still get their fix of Kriisa talk, even if he’s not in a Wildcats uniform next year.