MORGANTOWN — It’s now time to see if “The Magician” has any tricks left up his sleeve.
That’s the nickname WVU teammates have given point guard Kerr Kriisa after seeing the way the point guard can continually play and pass his way out of seemingly no-win situations in practice.
“We are bringing in the No. 1 point guard in the country,” WVU forward Quinn Slazinski said a couple of week ago. “Obviously, everyone’s heads are on fire right now because of all the things that are going on, but 100% we will be adding the No. 1 point guard in the country.”
The Magician has been a disappearing act through WVU’s first nine games, the result of a NCAA suspension after it was discovered Kriisa received improper benefits while still enrolled at Arizona, where he played three seasons, before transferring to WVU.
During that time, WVU (4-5) has had more downs than ups, and finds itself ranked No. 195 in the NCAA’s NET rankings, as it heads into Saturday’s Hall of Fame Classic match-up against UMass (5-2) in Springfield, Mass.
The dawn of Big 12 play is just three weeks away, meaning time is short for WVU head coach Josh Eilert and the Mountaineers to orchestrate some type of turnaround.
How much help can Kriisa, who led the Pac-12 in assists the last two seasons, bring to the team?
“Having Kerr out there will be a game-changer in terms of our offense and offensive production,” Eilert said. “Not only is he masterful at timing passes, but he also puts it right in the pocket of where it needs to be. Our field-goal percentage will go up just because we have a point guard like that on the floor.”
Aside from the fact Kriisa gives Eilert another body to work with to cut down on the heavy minutes played by everyone else, his play-making ability should be a major plus.
WVU is shooting 39.8% as a team, which is last in the Big 12. Kriisa’s style of play, Eilert hopes, will create some different looks within the offense to where WVU shooters are getting better looks at the rim.
“Kerr is a magician in so many different ways in terms of reading defenses,” Eilert said. “He’s got as good of vision as I’ve ever seen in the college game.”
Having Kriisa at point guard also allows Eilert to move Kobe Johnson off the ball. Johnson (10.3 points per game) has been the starting point guard during Kriisa’s absence.
Now, Johnson and Seth Wilson can rotate and not have to worry about running the show and handling the ball as much.
“It’s huge,” Wilson said. “Besides the obvious thing of saving legs, I know you guys have heard it before, but he’s a magician. Having that presence on the floor for us is going to be huge.”
And then there is the two-man game between Kriisa and center Jesse Edwards.
That was a focal point heading into the season for Eilert, picturing those two in pick-and-roll situations.
While Edwards has lived up to the billing — he’s averaging 16.2 points, while shooting 59% from the floor — it’s still hard to have a two-man show with just one guy.
“It gives us some momentum,” Edwards said. ”Normally, when guys are out and come back they bring an extra boost.”
WVU has played the last two games with the return of forward Akok Akok, who is still working his way back into shape after missing the first seven games with a medical condition.
With Kriisa’s return, it would seem WVU’s pieces are mostly in place — at the very least, the Mountaineers are in a better position than they started.
All that’s left is the magic trick of getting WVU back into contention.
“Not to talk him up too much, because he always laughs at me when I do that, but he is a program-changing player,” Slazinski said of Kriisa.
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