Auburn Basketball adds former five-star North Carolina transfer Walker Kessler

After a disappointing 2020-21 season for Auburn Basketball, head coach Bruce Pearl and the Tigers are re-loading for next season in a big way.

The Tigers finished last season at 13-14 overall, and 7-11 in the SEC. This was the first time since the 2015-16 season, year two of the Bruce Pearl era, that Auburn Basketball was below .500 in both overall and conference play.

Things didn’t seem to be getting better either as Auburn lost star freshman Sharife Cooper to the NBA, as well as guards Justin Powell and Jamal Johnson to the transfer portal. One thing that was 100% a given however is that the Tigers would be loaded with talent and depth in the front-court next season and that only got better on Monday afternoon as Auburn landed a commitment from former 5-star North Carolina transfer Walker Kessler.

Kessler, a former 5-star recruit, committed to North Carolina over numerous other schools including Auburn out of high school but didn’t necessarily play as much during his freshman season in Chapel Hill. Kessler averaged 8.8 minutes per game during the 2020-21 season where he averaged 4.4 PPG and 3.2 RPG on 57.8% shooting but did show flashes at times of how good he can be when he played enough minutes.

The 7’1 center had some games where he impressed, mainly when he played over 10 minutes. While looking at the generic 2020-21 season stats won’t blow you away, Kessler’s stats when playing in 10+ minutes a game show why he’s bound to break out with more playing time.

Kessler averaged 7.9 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 11 games when playing 10+ minutes. While he only played 15+ minutes in two games for the Tar Heels this past season, he averaged 18 PPG and 10 RPG combined in those two games. While it’s unlikely he averages that next season at Auburn, there is reason to believe a break-out season is coming.

Kessler will surely need to improve on a few things, in particular from the free-throw line (22/41 – 53.7%), but the talent is there for Kessler to become a star if the minutes are there. Playing alongside a loaded front-court including 5-star forward and top 5 player Jabari Smith, a potentially returning JT Thor, and more, Kessler should feature a prominent role for the Tigers next season and show everyone why he was a 5-star coming out of high school.

Auburn Basketball will still have work to do this offseason, mainly in the backcourt. The Tigers are loaded in the front-court, and with the addition of Kessler, Auburn is set up to return to the top half of the SEC next season.