UNC Basketball 2020-2021 Player Preview: Walker Kessler

Our 2020-21 UNC Basketball player previews continue with five-star freshman recruit Walker Kessler who hopes to provide a boost in the frontcourt.

Kerwin Walton | Donovan Johnson | Creighton Lebo | Day’Ron Sharpe

Another big piece to the UNC Basketball 2020 recruiting class was center Walker Kessler, a Georgia native that committed to North Carolina back in September of 2019, becoming then the second member of the class joining Day’Ron Sharpe. The 7-foot picked the Tar Heels over rival Duke after visiting the campus one weekend.

Now with us being just a few weeks away from the start of the season, Kessler could find himself being a valuable piece for the Tar Heels.

Kessler joins a loaded frontcourt that also features ACC Preseason Player of the Year Garrison Brooks, a rising sophomore in Armando Bacot and fellow recruit Day’Ron Sharpe. The Tar Heels might just have the best frontcourt in America in terms of talent and height as they are expected to be a force down in the paint.

Despite being in a rotation with a few other players, Kessler is expected to be a key piece in his freshman season. The talented big man could also be a piece that the Tar Heels have for a few years as he continues to develop and could end up being a two or three year player.

There’s a lot to like about Kessler’s game. He’s a very good rebounder that can limit possessions for opposing teams and extend them for his team. But he’s more than just a rebounder and big body in the paint. He also has a nice touch on his jumper and could force defenders out of the paint, extending the floor for the offense.

Let’s get into our player preview for Kessler below:

What to Expect in 2020-2021

As I mentioned above, Kessler will be in a rotation with three other talented frontcourt players but that shouldn’t take away from his first year in Chapel Hill. While Kessler likely won’t start, he’s still going to play significant minutes as the first or second frontcourt players off the bench.

Kessler will be the first or second big man off the bench depending on what head coach Roy Williams wants to do with his rotation. We could also see Williams deploy the two lineup tactic and have two lineups of five guys.

Either way, Kessler will have his chance to impress early on in the season.

When talking about Kessler’s skill-set it’s easy to see why so many love his game. Not only is Kessler a dominant big man in the paint but his ball skills and shooting ability are two underrated traits for him. He’s good in both of those areas, making him that much more dangerous in UNC’s offense. Take a look at Kessler’s game below:

I think UNC fans will see early just what type of player he is and will love to have him in Carolina Blue.

Bold Prediction

Seeing how Williams deploys his rotation, it will be interesting to see the minutes the freshmen get this year. Ideally, you don’t want to have to rely on your freshmen to deliver. But early on, Williams might have to.

Like I said above, Kessler will be a part of a frontcourt rotation that is really good and his production will certainly depend on the playing time he’s going to get. With this much talent in the frontcourt, there’s going to be a lot of production in the paint.

I can see Kessler averaging around 5 rebounds per game in his first year in Chapel Hill so for my bold prediction, I’ll up that to 7. If he can get to that number, then the Tar Heels are going to flat out dominate. I’ll throw out that Kessler will also shoot over 25 percent from the three-point line this year. Maybe that’s only on a low number of attempts, but he can knock down shots. I love his jumper and think he can be a force on this offense.

We could be in for an impressive year from the big man, so stay tuned.

For more on Kessler and other UNC Basketball players, please check back with Keeping It Heel.