UNC Basketball: Tar Heels 5-star target announces finalists

A highly ranked UNC basketball target announced his list of six finalists on Friday morning

5-star class of 2020 prospect and UNC basketball target Walker Kessler announced his condensed list of six finalists, and the Tar Heels made the cut. Kessler released the list via his personal Twitter account on Friday morning.

The 6-foot-10, 225-pound big man out of Woodward Academy in Fairburn, Georgia had well over 20 scholarship offers to choose from, including ones from some of the most prestigious college basketball programs in the nation. Now, though, it’s North Carolina — who is joined by Auburn, Cal, Duke, Gonzaga and Michigan — that Kessler will be moving forward with.

In doing so, he eliminated big-name programs like Florida, Florida State, Memphis, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCLA, Virginia and Xavier. Also now out of contention for Kessler’s commitment are the Kentucky Wildcats, who despite not having extended an offer to the top-20 big man, were considered a strong player in his recruitment.

The most surprising team left off his list, however, is probably the Georgia Bulldogs, who were seen as a legitimate favorite from very early on. Kessler’s family ties to the school — his father, late uncle and brother all played for the Bulldogs — and his relationship with head coach Tom Cream were thought to be a clear advantage for Georgia; at least enough to make his list of finalists.

Kessler spoke exclusively to Rivals.com about his finalists, having this to say about North Carolina, and how he would fit in with the Tar Heels:

"“It’s a little like Gonzaga where it’s a big man’s school,” Kessler said. “If you look at Luke Maye, he was undersized for the position but he still won ACC Player of the Year. He was just a great big and fun to watch. I like how they use their bigs in transition and run the floor and that’s what I do well, so I think I could fit into their system. They dropped off for a little bit because they said they were finishing their 2019 class, but they are back on me hard.”"

Kessler also told Rivals that his only planned visit right now is to Gonzaga on October 5. He anticipates taking an unofficial visit to Auburn, as well as official visits to Cal, Duke, Michigan and North Carolina.

Stick with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the Walker Kessler recruitment, and everything UNC basketball.