Kerr Kriisa tied a career-high in assists vs. Bucknell, but he was just happy to hug his mom

Kerr Kriisa doesn’t get to see his family all that often, so Saturday’s game meant a little bit more to him than he might let on.

A native of Estonia, Kriisa said a trip home over the summer included flights from Lexington to Chicago and then Washington D.C. before heading over to Europe. The whole escapade took him 25 hours between four or five flights when accounting for layovers. In an effort to return the favor, the Kriisa family found their way to the Bluegrass State this week to see their son in action.

They were treated to a special performance, too. Kriisa finished Kentucky’s 100-72 win over Bucknell with six points, 12 assists (tying a career-high), and four rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench in what was his 101st basketball game as a college player.

“It’s special,” Kriisa said postgame of having his family watching him play from the Rupp Arena crowd. “I don’t get to spend time with my family. Twice a year, couple of weeks a year. I’m just happy to see my parents and happy we got that we got the win.

“Just happy that I can get a hug from my mom.“

Kriisa, alongside the sharpshooting Koby Brea, provided plenty of spark off the pine for the Wildcats. Especially to start the second half, which was a bit of a slog on offense in the first few minutes. With his no-look passes and fiery attitude, Kriisa completely changed Kentucky’s energy levels for the better.

“I’m telling you, he’s a real special player. He’s a really special young man,” Head coach Mark Pope, who mentioned that he recruited Kriisa for seven years before finally landing his commitment in the transfer portal, said postgame. “It’s super special for him too, because his mom is here in town and she’s been here the last few days.

“For him to kind of bring that type of juice and panache and skill and excitement and unselfishness and kind of magic to the floor, the emotion that he brings to the floor. He’s calling timeouts for our team and the other team — heaven help us, but I love him. I love him. And our guys love him. You love him as a teammate. He’s just a special person.”

Kriisa’s passion and unselfishness have proven to be contagious throughout the rest of the team. The no-look passes (which he says are becoming easy to scout: “I gotta start looking where I pass”) are confusing defenses. It sounds odd, but how he used his eyes is one of his best skills right now. He’s fooling defenders just by looking in one direction. He drilled a couple of three-pointers for good measure, too.

All that being said, Kriisa admits he’s still not completely comfortable yet either. Keep in mind that, over the previous three seasons (two at Arizona, one at West Virginia), Kriisa came off the bench just three times across 91 games played. He says he expected to come off the bench when he initially committed to UK, but that doesn’t mean the transition has been smooth at every moment.

“I’m still figuring it out too,” he said.

If 12 assists (to just two turnovers) off the bench with seemingly unlimited energy is “still figuring it out”, then Kentucky fans should feel quite confident about the backcourt situation for the rest of the season.

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