Arizona's Kerr Kriisa named to Bob Cousy preseason watch list; award given to nation's top PG – Arizona Daily Star
Arizona Wildcats guard Kerr Kriisa (25) makes a kiss face toward the ‘red’s’ bench after forcing a turnover during Arizona Men’s Basketball’s Red-Blue Game at McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. on Sept. 30, 2022.
Arizona junior Kerr Kriisa was named to a 20-player preseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Award, honoring the top point guard in college basketball.
Kriisa averaged 9.7 points and 4.7 assists per game last season while posting a 2.2 assist-turnover ratio for the 33-4 Wildcats. He is expected to play a major leadership role as a junior this season after spending the late summer playing a key role for his native Estonia in World Cup qualifying and Eurobasket play.
The four other Naismith positional award watch lists are expected to be released daily this week, with UA forward Azuolas Tubelis likely to be named on the Karl Malone (power forward) watch list.
Other point guards on the 2022-23 Cousy preseason watch lists include:
Jahvon Quinerly, Alabama
Caleb Love, North Carolina
Grant Sherfield, Oklahoma
Wendell Green, Jr., Auburn
Max Abmas, Oral Roberts
Isaiah Stevens, Colorado State
Will Richardson, Oregon
Ryan Nembhard, Creighton
Yuri Collins, St. Louis
Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy
Mike Miles, Jr., TCU
Jeremy Roach, Duke
Tyrese Hunter, Texas
Sahvir Wheeler, Kentucky
Jordan Walker, UAB
Darius McGhee, Liberty
Tyger Campbell, UCLA
Kendric Davis, Memphis
Kihei Clark, Virginia
Respond: Write a letter to the editor | Write a guest opinion
Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community.
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
UCLA is stacked with talent, experience and versatility.
UCLA, Arizona and Oregon are expected to face the highest preseason expectations in the league.
Not surprisingly, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Washington has sharply criticized longtime incumbent Democrat Patty Murray. But Tiffany Smiley has also slammed the Seattle Seahawks, Starbucks, The Seattle Times and the city of Seattle. Whether Smiley’s combative approach will work in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican to the Senate in nearly 30 years remains to be seen. Smiley is hoping enough people have tired of Murray, who was first elected in 1992, to give her an edge in November. She has spent big running blistering ads blaming Murray for crime and inflation. Murray has also run a slew of negative ads against Smiley, saying the Republican’s anti-abortion stance could threaten women’s rights.
Andre Iguodala (Golden State) is the only former UA player remaining in the NBA from the Lute Olson era.
The Wildcats were one of three Pac-12 teams in the poll, with UCLA ranked eighth and Oregon 21st.
Even though he’s 18 until December, Adama Bal is expected to play at least the same sort of major reserve role for the Wildcats now.
“So much bad stuff was going on at the same time. It was just too much.”
Thee Wildcats, plus honorable mention Oumar Ballo, honored before media day.
Arizona Wildcats guard Kerr Kriisa (25) makes a kiss face toward the ‘red’s’ bench after forcing a turnover during Arizona Men’s Basketball’s Red-Blue Game at McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. on Sept. 30, 2022.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.
