The secret to Kerr Kriisa's success? "You've got to have some s*** to you"

At 6-2, 190 pounds, there isn’t much to Kerr Kriisa. He’s not the most athletic or explosive, certainly not the longest or strongest. Whatever you think of him physically, though, he’s about as strong as they come mentally. Not only is he unbreakable in that regard, he’s the one who takes great joy in breaking you.

It’s what has made him college basketball’s best villain over the last four years at Arizona and West Virginia. You love him if he’s on your team, hate his guts if he’s not.

“Kerr Kriisa is one of the great performers of college basketball,” Mark Pope told world-famous comedian Nate Bargatze of all people back in May. “Every home team loves him and every other school in the country hates him like crazy.”

Where did that come from for Kriisa? He feels he has to find his edge somehow to make it in this sport. That’s where the mental toughness comes in as the ultimate competitor.

“As a 6-2 guard, you’ve got to have some s*** to you, you know? It’s just so competitive,” Kriisa said. “There are always young guys coming up, and if you’re soft, you get pushed away. You can get out of this business real quick.”

Take his random beef with Luka Doncic for instance, once saying “It’s pretty easy to get into his head” after guarding the five-time NBA All-Star in the 2022 FIBA World Cup qualifiers. Then he gave a backhanded compliment to Doncic at Kentucky‘s Father/Son Camp, a young camper asking Kriisa who is better between him and the league’s scoring champion.

“It’s an easy answer, it’s Luka,” he said. “Luka is still in the league while being completely out of shape, so good for him.”

Dagger after dagger.

Why choose Luka to be his bitter rival and enemy No. 1? Kriisa said it’s nothing personal, he just says what’s on his mind as he’s feeling it, unfiltered.

“That was such a long time ago,” he said with a laugh. “He’s a great player, an awesome teammate. I wouldn’t make it any big thing, it was just part of the game and in the heat of the moment. Nothing much.”

Did he feel the wrath of Doncic diehards after the fact? Or any of the other enemies he’s made over the years as a villain? Kriisa says he can’t focus on all of that. It’d consume his life if he did.

No matter what he says or how he acts, his eyes are always on what matters most: winning games.

“I don’t really pay much attention to that,” Kriisa said. “If I paid attention to media and what you all write, I would drive myself crazy. We don’t need that. We’re focused on the basketball games, winning a lot of games. That’s the goal.”

Whatever works for him. He’s clearly doing just fine.