Missing Croc captivates Arizona basketball fans

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - The Arizona Wildcats are experiencing success on the court but there is a mystery off of it, and it has caught the attention of fans across the country.

It all started when Arizona guard Kerr Kriisa tossed his beloved Crocs into the crowd to celebrate his team’s Pac-12 title in Las Vegas.

Since then, the right Croc has gone rogue.

“I miss my Crocs,” Kriisa said. “They had a rough time, I wore them 24/7, I slept with them.”

Kriisa sprained his ankle earlier in the conference tournament and was wearing the tie-dye, rubber, boating shoes with his sweats on the bench.

“We were trying to tell him to not throw them because of his hurt foot,” said Arizona guard Dalen Terry.

Despite that advice, the Crocs flew into the crowd.

“That’s Kerr, that’s his personality,” Terry said. “That’s who he is.”

When those Crocs went flying, they became a phenomenon.

“My friend Page and his wife caught it [the left Croc] in Vegas and took it out for the night on the town,” said Paul Volpe.

Since then, Kriisa’s left Croc has been on a whirlwind journey—from Las Vegas to Tucson and now in San Diego for the first round of the NCAA tournament. The shoes even have their own Twitter account.

Volpe is a life-long Wildcats fan and a University of Arizona alum. He was handed the left Croc for the weekend and is going to make sure that the wild ride continues.

“We made it our mission to reunite left Croc with right Croc,” Volpe said.

Arizona head football coach Jedd Fisch, athletic director Dave Heeke and Kriisa himself have all made public pleas to help find the right Croc. A reunion could be around the corner.

“The owner of right Croc is in San Diego,” Volpe said. “She’s being a little coy about where it is, I think she’s trying to get a date out of Kerr.”

Wherever right Croc may be, the shoes will live forever in the minds of Arizona basketball fans.

“People want to have joy in their life,” Volpe said. “This is something kind of fun.”