The school said on Tuesday that guard Kerr Kriisa, a transfer from Arizona, will serve a nine-game ban this season after he acknowledged receiving improper perks while a member of the Wildcats.
After Bob Huggins stepped down and retired this summer as a result of a DUI arrest, Kriisa, who averaged 9.9 points per game and 5.1 assists per game at Arizona the previous season, remained committed to West Virginia.
According to West Virginia’s statement, it learned about Kriisa’s possible infractions in August.
“In late August 2023, West Virginia University learned of a potential eligibility concern for men’s basketball transfer student-athlete Kerr Kriisa, who admitted to receiving impermissible benefits while enrolled at the University of Arizona,” the statement continued. “To find a suitable alternative, West Virginia collaborated with the NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement Staff. Kriisa’s reinstatement of eligibility will include missing nine (9) regular season games in 2023–2024 due to his activities. During his absence from competition, Kriisa will be permitted to practise and travel with the team. He acknowledges that he made mistakes at Arizona and is eager to go back on the court with his Mountaineer teammates.”
It’s unclear how Arizona, which is on three-year probation after the Independent Accountability Resolution Process ruling on the NCAA violations case against the university, will be affected by Kriisa’s admission. The IARP announced in December that former Arizona assistant Book Richardson will serve a 10-year show-cause punishment; however, former head coach Sean Miller, who recently agreed to an extension at Xavier, would not face any penalties.
As part of the IARP decision that was tied to the FBI’s investigation of college basketball in 2017, Arizona has been instructed to “inform all men’s basketball and swimming and diving prospective student-athletes in writing that the institution is on probation for three years, detailing violations committed.”
It’s also unclear what would constitute “impermissible benefits” in the name, image and likeness era. Messages to the NCAA were not immediately returned.
Before attending Arizona, Kriisa played in Lithuania. He is originally from Estonia. Regulations pertaining to student visas and the restrictions placed on those students’ outside jobs complicate NIL rules for foreign players.
In a statement concerning NIL advantages for foreign students, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stated in 2021 that it has been “actively monitoring proposed federal and state legislation pertaining to the use of name, image, and likeness for student athletes…” The program is examining how this legislation impacts international student athletes in collaboration with its colleagues in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.”
The latest setback for West Virginia, which was predicted to finish eighth in the Big 12 preseason poll, is Kriisa’s suspension.
Huggins resigned and retired in June following a six-week period during which he was arrested for DUI and used a derogatory term about LGBT people in a radio interview. Huggins attempted to regain his job by suing the school a month later, claiming he had never signed a letter of resignation. Josh Eilert, who served as Huggins’s assistant the previous campaign, is the head coach in transition.
RaeQuan Battle, who averaged 17.7 points per game at Montana State the previous season but did not graduate from either Montana State or his first school, Washington, had his transfer waiver refused earlier this month by the NCAA. The decision that excludes Battle from immediate eligibility has been appealed by West Virginia.
Also, Akok Akok, a former player for Georgetown and UConn, is recuperating at home following his fall during a charity exhibition game versus George Mason on Friday, which the university referred to as a “medical emergency”.
Kriisa, the Arizona transfer, arrived this offseason as a potential leader for a West Virginia team that will play its first season without Huggins on the sidelines since the 2007-08 campaign.
“I think we’re in a good spot right now,” Kriisa told ESPN at Big 12 media day when asked about his team’s ability to jell during a turbulent offseason. “I was never really worried about team chemistry.”
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