Kriisa or Perry

[mcnicKY91]

What is everyone's thoughts on what should happen upon Kriisa's return (assuming he does come back at some point)?

I really like how Perry has settled into the backup PG position with Kerr out. He seems to be improving by leaps and bounds each game. Every time he shoots, I now think it is going in. Doesn't turn the ball over, as well. Defensively he is still somewhat weak, but that is expected for 99% of freshmen.

We know what Kerr brings to the table. Love his energy, intensity, and ability to fire up the team. He definitely has no conscience when he shoots, haha. He isn't that great defensively either.

The question becomes, what happens at the backup PG position upon his return? Does Perry lose playing time, does Pope find a way for both of them to play?

 

[mcnicKY91]

Additionally, forget to add that sometimes it is not advantageous to bring back a guy that has been out thr majority of the season. Can really screw with team chemistry on the court.

Last year I was not a fan of Tre Mitchell coming back and getting the minutes he did. His outside shot was broken, and Cal stupidly decided to run the offense through him in the Oakland game. Thought his return really messed up the way the Cats were playing at year end.

 

[rob_47]

I actually like what Tp brings more than Kerr and that's not a slight to him at all. I just think Perry moves better and is a little stronger than Kerr. I also think he's a better shooter. We just need to see what Kerr has when he gets back. I still think he should play.

 

[oldsports_]

Krissa.
He can defend way better.
Perry is coming along quite nice though.

 

[B.B.H.]

the correct choice is Kriisa by a landslide. I’m loving the progress that Perry is making and think he will be a rotation player next year

 

[katwest]

Kerr will be back just like he was before he got hurt, he will be Butlers or Owehs back up, whichever comes out first. Kerr has got to get going for us to be what pope wants out of this team. Perry will still be counted on just like he is now, to keep the offense stable and score if the opportunity is there. This has been the best thing that could happen for Travis because getting thrown into the fire and really responding pretty good when he is in the game, valuable experience that might not have come as fast had Kerr not got hurt.

 

[BlueBomb]

Kerr is one of those guys that can win a game for you...or lose a game for you.

No other comment. Just sayin'

 

[wardlow]

I’d settle for the option of both. Perry has been great, better than I anticipated for sure.

 

[The Grand Poohbah]

I think Perry has a good future here, but he is still a bit of a liability. What was his +/- last night? Seems like every time he was in A&M capitalized offensively. And his turnovers were not forced, just sloppy. Kerr has issues, too, but I prefer him right now.

 

[ck-2]

No knock on Perry because I really like him and think he will develop into a fine player. But, when he comes in the other teams attack him and exploit his weakness on defense. The offense also seems to completely stall when Butler goes to the bench and Perry comes in. He’s performed well under the circumstances but it’s a big drop off when Butler goes to the bench.

 

[SemperFiCat]

Kerr. They can both hit, but they both also throw the ball away a bit as well. IMO, Kerr brings you a little more Def, quickness and energy. Is not a huge gap though. Nice improvement by Perry.

Perry's body movements remind me so much of Travis Ford. Anyone else see that?

 

[kywildcat41035]

I love Kerr's energy a lot and I think that's what the team was missing for a bit but they're starting to adjust. I love Travis Perry and think that he is developing at a nice pace.

 

[billoliver40]

Kerr. Travis in a couple years may be phenomenal, but Kerr brings a fire Travis doesn't have yet.

 

[rick64]

Perry is a huge liability on defense. A&M went right at him several times last night as soon as he came in.

 

[BassProCat]

Kerr but Just don’t rush Kerr back and let Perry continue to build confidence.

 

[cal=8]

I think Perry will be a very good College point guard. The 2 threes he hit last night were huge! I hate that Kerr is hurt but Perry getting PT running this team could really help us in March.

If Kerr comes back they can battle for the spot with Kerr likely winning but make no mistake, Perry has made his mark as a valid option at the point. I can't state enough how much I love this team and our Coach. This feels like Ky basketball and it's been a long time since it's felt that way.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Could Perry play the 2 spot at all? Just with that shot making ability.. it would be great to keep him in there while still utilizing Butler and Kerr.

 

[UKSanders]

Could Perry play the 2 spot at all? Just with that shot making ability.. it would be great to keep him in there while still utilizing Butler and Kerr.

Probably in short spurts w/ Butler, but I don't he could be on the floor much with Kerr... just too much defensive liability.

 

[chasingwildcat]

i am afraid that kerr could destroy the chemistry we built now

He may not get on pace of the team after inuury. I prefer Perry at this point

The way this team is playing is way different with the time Kerr played. He needs time to adjust but we can not afford to lose any game to make a deep run.

So let Perry be the backup PG and I think Kerr will understand this situation and still be a good teammate.

Do not want the Tre Mitchell story repeat again. Just use the current rotation as time nears the tournament.

 

[rob_47]

Could Perry play the 2 spot at all? Just with that shot making ability.. it would be great to keep him in there while still utilizing Butler and Kerr.

He can. Whether Pope gives him minutes there idk but he absolutely can.

 

[chroix]

No need for it to be an either or but I do think perry has done a lot better than I'd expected and the dropoff is getting to be less and less. Really great sign for the future. Hopefully Kerr can make a full recovery and come back and be productive but is that really realistic? Time will tell.

 

[Seth_C]

No knock on Perry because I really like him and think he will develop into a fine player. But, when he comes in the other teams attack him and exploit his weakness on defense. The offense also seems to completely stall when Butler goes to the bench and Perry comes in. He’s performed well under the circumstances but it’s a big drop off when Butler goes to the bench.

Does it? From what I recall of last night most of our lead was developed with Perry running the offense. When Butler returned it was a series of turnovers, lazy effort bringing the ball up the court, and lazy passes.

I just pulled it up to verify. We started the second half up 35-32 with Perry in the game. We pushed that to 46-34 larger due to Perry making two 3 pointers. So, in 4 minutes we scores 11 points and only gave up 2. That was the score when Butler came in. Four minutes later it was 52-43. We scored only 6 points and gave up 9. It took the remainder of the game to push the lead back out to 12.

 

[SemperFiCat]

With Perry's improvement, Brea might want to think about upping his contributions a bit more. Not saying Perry would take all his mins, but he could end up taking more than Kobe might like. Nice to be able to build depth though. Refreshing.

 

[westerncat]

We are going to need Kerr in March but Perry is really coming along. His defense will improve later.

 

[Bluesnky]

Perry has clearly outplayed Kerr. The idea that Kerr is much better on defense? What?

 

[KentuckyCat420]

Perry is growing very quickly, I’m almost already to the point where I’m happy to see him as a backup PG.

Krissa has a much bigger bag than Perry obviously, but I definitely feel a lot more confident when Perry puts up a 3.

 

[Eagles_Ball]

FWIW...Jones said yesterday on KSR he didn't think Kerr would be back this season. IIRC, Matt didn't have any inside info. He just pointed out it's mid-January and Kerr is still hopping and not walking normally. That's a helluva long way from being game ready. As long as Butler stays healthy, I'm not sure there's a huge upside to bringing Kerr back, especially if he's not 100%.

 

[wldctky]

What is everyone's thoughts on what should happen upon Kriisa's return (assuming he does come back at some point)?

I really like how Perry has settled into the backup PG position with Kerr out. He seems to be improving by leaps and bounds each game. Every time he shoots, I now think it is going in. Doesn't turn the ball over, as well. Defensively he is still somewhat weak, but that is expected for 99% of freshmen.

We know what Kerr brings to the table. Love his energy, intensity, and ability to fire up the team. He definitely has no conscience when he shoots, haha. He isn't that great defensively either.

The question becomes, what happens at the backup PG position upon his return? Does Perry lose playing time, does Pope find a way for both of them to play?

Kriisa in 10 games 34 assists 9TO's... Perry 2 assists 4 TO's in 14 games and that is with extended minutes the last 7 games.... I will go with the guy with experience that distributes the ball and gets it to guys where they can score easily

 

[Creed Bratton]

FWIW...Jones said yesterday on KSR he didn't think Kerr would be back this season. IIRC, Matt didn't have any inside info. He just pointed out it's mid-January and Kerr is still hopping and not walking normally. That's a helluva long way from being game ready. As long as Butler stays healthy, I'm not sure there's a huge upside to bringing Kerr back, especially if he's not 100%.

I heard him say that and he did say that is just his take and he had no inside info to know for certain. He also said Kerr and Almonor could come back next year under the new rule but I thought it pertained to playing JUCO and to my knowledge neither of those guys played JUCO.

 

[mcnicKY91]

Kriisa in 10 games 34 assists 9TO's... Perry 2 assists 4 TO's in 14 games and that is with extended minutes the last 7 games.... I will go with the guy with experience that distributes the ball and gets it to guys where they can score easily

To be fair, the majority of Kriisa's numbers came against mid major opponents in the non conference.

Perry basically had to get his feet wet against top 25 teams in the SEC as a freshmen.

 

[JC CATS]

I heard him say that and he did say that is just his take and he had no inside info to know for certain. He also said Kerr and Almonor could come back next year under the new rule but I thought it pertained to playing JUCO and to my knowledge neither of those guys played JUCO.

Do we believe Pope or MJ?

 

[Creed Bratton]

Do we believe Pope or MJ?

If it was Cal it might be a toss up since one is a pathological liar and the other is clueless most of the time now days but I will believe what Pope says all day over MJ.

 

[westerncat]

To be fair we are talking about a 4 year player (Kerr) against a Freshman (Perry). Perry is going to be great by his Jr. year if not before.

 

[Creed Bratton]

Perry is a huge liability on defense. A&M went right at him several times last night as soon as he came in.

Kerr is a pretty big liability on defense himself.

 

[trueblujr2]

Kerr will be back just like he was before he got hurt, he will be Butlers or Owehs back up, whichever comes out first. Kerr has got to get going for us to be what pope wants out of this team. Perry will still be counted on just like he is now, to keep the offense stable and score if the opportunity is there. This has been the best thing that could happen for Travis because getting thrown into the fire and really responding pretty good when he is in the game, valuable experience that might not have come as fast had Kerr not got hurt.

Come Tournament time, we're going to want and need Kerr's experience over Perry.

 

[Wildcat-in-STL]

since Chandler is regulated to the bench, you play Perry and Kriisa, maybe not together at the same time but both should play

 

[B.B.H.]

I really just hope the fanbase trusts Pope with the decision and not play favorites when or if Kerr returns

 

[JonathanW]

Additionally, forget to add that sometimes it is not advantageous to bring back a guy that has been out thr majority of the season. Can really screw with team chemistry on the court.

Last year I was not a fan of Tre Mitchell coming back and getting the minutes he did. His outside shot was broken, and Cal stupidly decided to run the offense through him in the Oakland game. Thought his return really messed up the way the Cats were playing at year end.

Big difference in bringing a guy back and centering the offense around him giving him major minutes, VS bringing a guy back in a supportive role and limited (10, or at most 15) minutes.

I know many want the local kid to do well. And given time, I think he can/will. But last night both defensively and handling the ball he struggled. The thought of Perry playing vs UT or Auburn is a little scary. Kerr is not Butler defensively!!! But he's better than Perry, quicker if nothing else.
I would let practice determine which backs up Butler. But maybe also, what we need at that particular moment in the game.

But I would agree that Perry's improvement lessens the desire to RUSH Kerr to get back. I would like to have him back, and re-united with the offense, before the SEC-T, if we are to use him at all.

 

[Cats192]

I think if both guys are 100%, Kriisa is the better player.

He's started for very good Arizona teams. He averaged~10 points and 5 assists from 2021-2024. He's not some crazy high upside guy. But he's experienced and proven vs D1 competition.

I like what I've seen from Perry, and he's shown he can hold his own in small stretches vs the toughness of the SEC. I'm very excited about his future.

Ultimately, all that matters is what MP thinks.

 

[LordEggForgotHisPassword]

are we sure Kerr is gonna be back? I mean, he still hobbles.