Kentucky basketball doesn’t need Kerr Kriisa now. Returning next season would benefit both

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Kentucky basketball guard Kerr Kriisa hasn’t suited up for the Wildcats since injuring his foot in their win over Gonzaga on Dec. 7. He should make it official; the next time he plays for the Wildcats will be in the 2025-26 season.

Kriisa meets the criteria for applying and receiving a medical redshirt for a final year of eligibility. The school hasn’t made that announcement yet, despite the fact coach Mark Pope recently said on his radio show that Kriisa was “still a ways away” from returning to the lineup.

Maybe if UK were a surefire national title contender this season, it would make sense to come back.

It’d be a no-brainer if Kriisa had multiple years of eligibility remaining.

Neither is the case. It just so happens that the ability to extend his college career comes at an unprecedented time in college sports, which would favor Kriisa.

Should he choose to shut it down this season, he could stand to make more money next season thanks to the House v. NCAA settlement proposal.

Assuming the settlement clears all hurdles, and there seems to be more potential pitfalls with every passing week, UK will be allowed to pay players directly through revenue sharing. Kriisa could make that money in addition to whatever he’s pulling from name, image and likeness deals he already has in place.

For a 6-foot-3 guard from Estonia who doesn’t profile as a future NBA player, he could possibly make more staying at Kentucky to play than he would turning professional and playing overseas.

That’s the financial reality of it now for the basketball side.

Kriisa has missed 18 straight games since he last played. If he were healthy enough to return now, he’d be coming back to a very different team than he remembered.

Their rash of injuries has made Pope broaden his rotation and expand roles for some players.

The freshman trio of guard Travis Perry, forward Trent Noah and guard Collin Chandler are all in the rotation now.

Perry played all of 23 total minutes before Kriisa’s injury as the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/kentucky-basketball-doesnt-kerr-kriisa-101648338.html

Author : The Courier Journal

Publish date : 2025-02-24 10:16:00

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