One of the most fascinating names remaining in the 2022 NCAA Tournament is that of Arizona sophomore guard Kerr Kriisa, who played his first game of March Madness in the Wildcats' second-round victory over TCU.
Kriisa didn't shoot particularly well in the 85-80 victory, scoring 3 points on 1-of-10 shooting, but the Wildcats did outscore the Horned Frogs by 24 points when he was on the court — a testament to his impact on 1-seed Arizona's success this season.
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That said, the fiery forward from Estonia has also raised questions as to the origin of his name — particularly his first name. More specifically, Arizona's success in the 2022 NCAA Tournament has people asking whether he is related to Steve Kerr, the former Chicago Bulls player who won five titles and who has gone on to win three more NBA Finals championships with the Golden State Warriors.
That Kerr also played at Arizona — and that he wore the same No. 25 jersey Kriisa is currently wearing — suggests the two have a connection of some sort. But are they related?
The Sporting News has the answer:
Is Kerr Kriisa related to Steve Kerr?
No, Kerr Kriisa is not related to Steve Kerr. The latter of those two was born in 1965 in Beirut, Lebanon, where his father was an academic and president of the American University of Beirut. Kriisa was born in Tartu, Estonia, in 2001 and moved to the United States in 2020 when he signed with the Wildcats.
Kerr has three children. They are named Nick, Maddy and Matthew.
That said, Kriisa does have a connection to Kerr: The latter is his namesake.
Per the Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, Ariz.), Kriisa's father, Valmo Kriisa — who played for Estonia’s national teams from 1995 to 2011 and who was the Estonian League player of the year in 2007 — admired the former Bulls guard when he watched him play for the '90s-era Bulls.
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"That’s actually — it’s hilarious,” Kriisa told the Daily Star. “Steve (Kerr) was playing with Jordan and since my dad was a basketball player, from there, it came the name.
“If you’re a basketball player, you basically follow a lot of leagues and a lot of players. So, for sure, my dad can’t bring up a name like Kerr out of nowhere."
So, Kriisa's first name is no accident. But the fact he ended up playing at Arizona and taking on Kerr's old jersey number is. (It's worth noting that, while Arizona retires jerseys, it does not retire individual numbers. That's why Kriisa is able to wear No. 25 despite Kerr's jersey hanging in the rafters of the McKale Memorial Center).
Per the Daily Star, Kriisa, the No. 94 overall player in the class of 2020 and one of its top international players, had no idea Kerr played at Arizona when he was recruited — and ultimately decided to play for — the Wildcats. He also considered BYU, though Oregon and Syracuse and also expressed interest in him.
Just another fascinating coincidence between Kriisa and Kerr — though, that's all it is.