Morgantown, West Virginia – The West Virginia Mountaineers have been extremely active in the transfer portal since their season ended, reaching out to virtually every major player that becomes available in the portal.
West Virginia’s top target, Kerr Kriisa, visited Morgantown and from all indications, he was impressed with the facilities, coaching staff and current players on the team. In other words, he can see himself playing for the Mountaineers but wants to do his due diligence to be sure that it’s the right fit for him. Following his visit to West Virginia, Kriisa took a trip to Lincoln, Nebraska. Although the Nebraska Cornhuskers desperately need a point guard, their facilities, coaching staff, current roster, fanbase, etc., simply do not match up with that of West Virginia.
It’s unclear whether Kriisa will take any more visits – one to Xavier is/was expected – but his social media footprint suggests that West Virginia is the top target. On Instagram, where Kriisa is most active, he has added multiple players from West Virginia, including last year’s starting point guard Kedrian Johnson, returning guards Joe Toussaint and Jose Perez, as well as West Virginia’s Director of Recruiting/Player Personnel Jay Kuntz, and assistant coaches Alex Ruoff and Josh Eilert.
In contrast, the only person Kriisa followed after his trip to Nebraska was head coach Fred Hoiberg’s son, Sam Hoiberg. Social media is a huge part of student-athletes’ lives and although it seems a bit silly to make so much of something like “follows”, it certainly gives you a clue as to what he’s thinking and where he’s leaning.
In addition to his mass following of people associated with the West Virginia basketball program, Kriisa also followed Hunter Dickinson, a 7’1 transfer center from Michigan, who happens to be the #1 ranked player in the transfer portal right now. Dickinson immediately followed Kriisa back, which could lead one to believe that the two are looking to link up as a package deal at their new school?
If West Virginia can manage to land players of the caliber of Kriisa and Dickinson, in addition to the players they already have returning, the Mountaineers will go form a mid-tier Big 12 Conference team to one of the most talented teams in the entire nation.
Stay tuned, the next couple of days could get very interesting!
Kerr Kriisa's last 3 follows on Instagram. West Virginia's starting point guard last season, West Virginia's Basketball Director of Player Personnel/Recruiting and #1 player available in the transfer portal. VERY interesting. Big things cooking at #WVU? pic.twitter.com/utoN2U9fut
— The Voice of Morgantown (@voicemorgantown) March 31, 2023
