West Virginia men’s basketball announced on Tuesday that transfer guard Kerr Kriisa will be suspended for the first nine games of the regular season.
This stems from him receiving impermissible benefits while at the University of Arizona.
Kriisa was going to be WVU’s starting point guard, but without him they are going to have to look elsewhere for answers on a team which already lacks depth.
Missing Meaningful Matchups
Before getting into the specifics of the lineup impacts, there are also plenty of big games Kriisa is going to miss. His first game back will be on Dec. 16 against UMass. This means he is missing the Fort Myers Tip-Off against SMU and either Virginia or Wisconsin. It also means he will miss non-conference games against St. John’s and Pitt.
Replacing Him
In WVU’s exhibition game on Friday against George Mason, Kriisa played in just under 26 minutes of the game, finishing with 11 points, three assists, and two rebounds. Kriisa was +9 on the evening.
Without Kriisa, the Mountaineers are going to have to look down their bench. The first name that pops up is Kobe Johnson. Johnson is in his third season at WVU, and played 22 minutes against George Mason. Johnson went 2 for 8 from the field with four points, and was -4 on the night.
Behind Johnson there is not much for interim head coach Josh Eilert. The first name that pops up is Jeremiah Bembry. However, Bembry is still very raw and unproven and did not touch the floor in the exhibition game. If he didn’t touch the floor in an exhibition, it makes it seem like he’s not ready for the real thing.
Johsnon will presumably start, but over the last two seasons, he has not played more than 20 minutes in a game. Johnson is going to have to see the floor for an extended period of time throughout the first month and a half of the season. He is also going to have to be able to stay out of foul trouble for the Mountaineers.
Another guy who is going to have to step up is Seth Wilson. Wilson handled the ball some going up the court when George Mason would pressure, but him at the two-guard position means he is going to have to handle the ball more without much depth behind Johnson.
Who does WVU turn to on offense?
This team will now go through Jesse Edwards. Plain and simple.
Edwards is going to be the best player on the floor for the Mountaineers and he is going to have to act like it. In the first half against George Mason, Edwards was in foul trouble and was only on the floor for eight minutes. That simply, cannot happen if WVU is going to want to win games without Kriisa.
This also means Wilson is going to have to take an increased scoring role along with Johnson. On Friday, Quinn Slazinski scored 21 points on 5 of 12 shooting. Slazinski is going to have to take more of an attacking role on offense with Kriisa out and be able to provide more on that end of the floor.
