By JACOB POLACHECK
Top international basketball prospect Kerr Kriisa has committed to the Arizona, he told ESPN on Saturday.
“What stood out to me about Arizona was the coaching staff and my belief that this place is best for my development,” Kriisa told ESPN.
Kriisa said he mostly considered Arizona and BYU, while Oregon and Syracuse also showed interest.
Originally from Estonia, Kriisa, 19, is considered to be the top European recruit committing to college.
Kriisa was also one of the top players in the Lithuanian NKL this season, averaging 14.8 points and 6.0 assists in 25 minutes while shooting 39 percent from 3-point range and 84 percent from the free throw line.
Having made three appearances for the Estonian junior national teams at the FIBA U16 and U18 European Championships, he debuted with the senior national team in February as part of the FIBA European qualifying window, playing 18 minutes against Italy, a rarity for a teenager, and dishing out five assists.
“Year after year, I started to follow college basketball more closely and realized I could be effective there also,” Kriisa told ESPN. “It’s a completely different style of basketball, but I believe it can be good for me to challenge myself.”
He joins an Arizona recruiting class consisting of small forwards Dalen Terry and Bennedict Mathurin and transfer guards Terrell Brown Jr. and James Akinjo.
Arizona will lose freshmen Nico Mannion, Josh Green and Zeke Nnaji to the NBA Draft.
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