WVU transfer suspended 9 for Arizona violation

• Myron Medcalf, ESPN Personnel WriterOct 31, 2023, 01:05 PM ET Close

  • Covers college basketball
  • Signed up with ESPN.com in 2011
  • Graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato

West Virginia guard Kerr Kriisa, a transfer from Arizona, will serve a nine-game suspension this season after he confessed to accepting impermissible benefits during his time with the Wildcats, the school revealed on Tuesday.Kriisa, who averaged

9.9 PPG and 5.1 APG last season at Arizona, kept his commitment to West Virginia after Bob Huggins resigned and retired this summertime following a DUI arrest.In its statement, West Virginia said it became aware

of Kriisa’s prospective offenses in August. “In late August 2023, West Virginia University discovered of a prospective eligibility issue for men’s basketball transfer student-athlete Kerr Kriisa, who confessed to receiving impermissible advantages while registered at the University of Arizona,”the statement said.”West Virginia worked cooperatively with the NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement Staff to reach an appropriate resolution. As an outcome of his actions, Kriisa will miss out on nine(9)2023-2024 routine season games as part of his eligibility reinstatement. Kriisa will have the ability to continue to practice and take a trip with the team throughout his suspension from competition. He accepts responsibility for his actions at Arizona and looks forward to joining his Mountaineer colleagues on the flooring.”Editor’s Picks 2 Related It’s unclear if Kriisa’s admission will affect Arizona, which is under probation for 3 years following the Independent Responsibility Resolution

Process decision on the NCAA offenses case versus the university. In December, the IARP revealed a 10-year show-cause penalty for former Arizona assistant Schedule Richardson, but no charge versus previous head coach Sean Miller, who recently consented to an extension at Xavier.”The NCAA does not talk about specifics for eligibility cases, and the school (s)in question would be your best resource for additional information, “NCAA spokeswoman Meghan Durham told ESPN.As part of the IARP

choice that was connected to the FBI’s examination of college basketball in 2017, Arizona has been instructed to” notify all men’s basketball and swimming and diving prospective student-athletes in composing that the

institution is on probation for three years, detailing infractions devoted.”It’s likewise uncertain what would constitute “impermissible benefits”in the name, image and similarity age. Messages to the NCAA were not right away returned.Kriisa is from Estonia and he played in Lithuania before his time at

Arizona. NIL rules for international players are made complex by guidelines around trainee visas and the constraints on outside employment for those students.In 2021, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released a memo about NIL benefits for international trainees that said the company had been”actively monitoring proposed federal and state legislation referring to the use of name, image and similarity for trainee athletes … The program is working with its partners within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to examine how this legislation affects international trainee athletes. “However a source informed ESPN that the NCAA would not get involved if an international student received an NIL offer and it would not be considered impermissible benefits.Kriisa’s suspension is the latest in a series of challenges for West Virginia, which was chosen to end up ninth this season in the Huge 12’s preseason poll.In June,

Huggins resigned and retired after a six-week stretch that included his use of a gay slur during a radio interview and later on, a DUI arrest. A month later, Huggins took legal action against the school

and attempted to get his job back, saying he never ever signed a letter of resignation. Josh Eilert, an assistant under Huggins last season, is now the interim head coach.Earlier this month

, the NCAA rejected a transfer waiver for RaeQuan Fight, who balanced 17.7 PPG at Montana State last season but did not earn a degree from Montana State or Washington, his first school. West Virginia has actually appealed the ruling that rejects Fight immediate eligibility.And Akok Akok, who previously played at both UConn and Georgetown, is now in your home and recuperating after he collapsed

in what the school called a “medical emergency” during a charity exhibit match against George Mason on Friday.Kriisa, the Arizona transfer, arrived this offseason as a possible leader for a West Virginia group that will play its very first season without Huggins on the sidelines given that the 2007-08 campaign.”I believe we remain in an excellent spot today, “Kriisa informed ESPN at Big 12 media day when inquired about his group’s capability to jell throughout a rough offseason.” I was never ever truly anxious about group chemistry.”