Kerr Kriisa’s goal in his injury recovery was always to return this season
For the first time since December, backup point guard Kerr Kriisa was available to speak to the media as the Kentucky Wildcats prepare to face Troy in their NCAA Tournament opener.
The veteran has been sidelined since early December after injuring his foot in the victory over Gonzaga. After appearing in just seven games for the Wildcats, he will be eligible to receive a medical redshirt to return to college basketball for one more season.
Kriisa is not ready to have a conversation about next year, however. Instead, he made it clear Thursday afternoon that he is not worried about his future and is focused on being a Wildcat.
“My focus is 100% on this year. I don’t know nothing about next year. I don’t even know if I come back to college. All I know is my foot wasn’t good enough to play. I’ll focus on that stuff later,” said Kriisa.
Kriisa was also asked about how the past three months have been since his surgery.
“It’s been difficult. They have been challenging. I have never had surgery before, I have never had that long of an injury. The most I have had to sit out is a week or a couple of weeks,” he said.
While he won’t suit up again, Kriisa made it clear his goal was always to return this season for the Wildcats, who hope to make a deep NCAA tournament run.
“That was the No. 1 goal for me, especially with these guys,” he said. “I really wanted to be here with this group of guys. That was the first thing for me. But when I started doing rehab, when I saw that it wasn’t probably going to be happening, then I didn’t want to risk it. I wanted to be 100% healthy coming back.”
Kriisa’s energy on the court has been missed but it certainly has not lacked since he has been on the sidelines. Kriisa mentioned that he has looked for any way possible to help out the Wildcats since he has been injured. Kriisa will be ready to cheer on his guys throughout the month of March.
