Kerr Kriisa, Arizona veterans helping offset younger players' struggles in early season

Bruce Pascoe The votes are in, even if Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd wasn’t interested in casting a ballot.In that case, headband it is. The Wildcats’ Estonian junior point guard collected 14 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in the Wildcats’ 95-78 win over Southern on Friday while wearing the headband he had discarded four days earlier in UA’s season opener.

Kriisa’s headband has become so much a part of his look that it is featured prominently on the NIL T-shirts of him that the Arizona Assist collective has been selling. But when asked where he saw or heard all those messages, Kriisa said only that"some guys" told him he had to wear it."Here’s the thing: I didn’t even notice," Lloyd said."I don’t notice those things."

"I think Kerr’s good every day. I really do," Lloyd said."Nobody’s gonna get a triple-double every night, but Kerr is just a good basketball player. He’s got such a high IQ. He’s got a great motor and he’s competitive. You can coach him on a cerebral level where he understands what’s going on. He’ll look at you, he’ll nod, and for the most part he’ll go out and do it."

"I thin Kerr’s biggest strength is just his confidence. He’s not scared," Lloyd said."There’s some times he’ll do some risky plays and he probably knows that coach probably isn’t going to love this, but he’s still not afraid, which is important. Meanwhile, younger reserve players such as wing Adama Bal, guard Kylan Boswell and big man Henri Veesaar struggled at times but flashed promise in others. Boswell, for example, shot only 1 for 5 but recorded assists on four straight UA baskets late in the first half, when the Wildcats expanded their lead from 15 to 19 points.

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