What Amari Williams and Kerr Kriisa miss most about home, and love about Kentucky

DrewFranklinKSR

Kentucky‘s new basketball roster includes two foreign-born Wildcats: Estonian guard Kerr Kriisa in the backcourt and British big man Amari Williams inside. Neither is new to the United States; each played four years of American college basketball before transferring to the University of Kentucky for the 2024-25 season. Still, they miss parts of their respective home countries as they gear up for a new season, their fifth year of NCAA eligibility.

Williams, who spent the last four years at Drexel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, misses friends and family back home. The Nottingham native also misses beans with his breakfast. The traditional English breakfast he grew up eating with friends and family typically includes back bacon or sausage links, eggs, tomatoes, black pudding, toast, and baked beans.

“All the guys make jokes about how I eat beans for breakfast, but that’s something I make sure I get when I go back home especially the first morning,” Williams told KSR in a preseason interview. “That’s something I miss.”

Kriisa misses his grandparents’ home cooking and spending time with them in Estonia. “Honestly, just laying on the couch, putting my legs up, and speaking with my grandparents, really. Just being there, that’s the thing I miss the most.”

Lexington can’t replace a grandparents’ love, but Kriisa is open to finding some of Lexington’s best cuisine. Mid-interview, he turned the tables on the conversation by asking the room for restaurant recommendations around town.

“I haven’t been to local spots yet, but I’d really like to go, so, there’s nine faces here, so if somebody could throw something good out.”

KSR’s Mario Maitland saw an opportunity to suggest KSBar and Grille, only to learn Kriisa isn’t a fan of chicken wings. “Also, I’m on a diet right now,” Kriisa admitted. I’m trying to lose some weight.”

Once he expressed an interest in Greek food, Zack Geoghegan and I followed up with votes for Athenian Grill and Nefertiti, two of the better spots in town.

From the U.K. to U.K.

Breakfast beans aside, Amari Williams enjoys life in Lexington, even though it’s not nearly as big of a city as the one he left behind or anything like his surroundings in England.

“I didn’t realize the city is so small,” Williams told KSR. “Nowhere in England has a city where the campus is this big, at all, so coming to a city like this where it’s a college city in a sense, it’s a lot different than back home for sure.”

When asked what he loves most about Lexington, Williams shared his appreciation for the scenery around Central Kentucky, which is a significant change in pace from the concrete, skyscrapers, and historic landmarks of Philadelphia.

He loves the “greenery” in the Bluegrass. “It’s not a big city, like, I came from Philadelphia, so it’s nothing like that. A lot of greenery, so having that around is a lot different and I feel like it’s better, too.”

Williams was one of the last Wildcats to arrive on campus in mid-June, so most of his time has been spent indoors at the Joe Craft Center, working out and practicing with his new teammates. He and the team recently stepped out to watch all three TBT games at Rupp Arena, where Williams saw a preview of what’s to come once the season begins.

“That’s the craziest thing about it, just seeing, you know, when we walked in the first time, and everyone applauded us. Even when Pope went to the last game, seeing how the fan base was, I think it was something not many of us expected.”

Kriisa also appreciates playing at Kentucky, although he expressed it a little differently: