Former Arizona guard Kerr Kriisa withdraws from NCAA transfer portal, will return to West Virginia

Kerr Kriisa is once again putting his career in the hands of an unproven assistant coach.

The former Arizona point guard announced Sunday he was returning to West Virginia, where he transferred to in April after three seasons with the Wildcats. Kriisa had re-entered the NCAA transfer portal on Friday, doing so in reaction to the sudden resignation of Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins, but at the time said he would “consider coming back when the new coach is announced.”

Apparently, West Virginia’s decision to elevate assistant Josh Eilert to interim head coach was enough to convince Kriisa to come back.

“2 years ago I put my faith in an assistant coach and we won 61 games together,” Kriisa wrote, alluding to his decision to return to Arizona in 2021 after Tommy Lloyd was hired to replace Sean Miller. “Now, I am putting my faith back in a coach that put his faith in me.”

Eilert, 39, had been on West Virginia’s staff since 2007, starting as video coordinator and becoming a full-time assistant last season. Like Lloyd, who was an assistant at Gonzaga for 20-plus years before getting the Arizona job, he’s a first-time head coach at a power-conference program that has high expectations.

Arizona won 61 games the past two seasons under Lloyd, the most by any coach to begin his college career, as well as two Pac-12 Tournament titles and one regular-season crown.