Five-star center Walker Kessler commits to North Carolina

ByEVAN DANIELS 10 hours ago

• 

Five-star recruit Walker Kessler verbally committed to North Carolina late Sunday evening, he told 247Sports.

“Honestly, I just felt like I could see myself playing for Coach Roy [Williams],” Kessler said. “He’s a great man and the coaching staff was a great coaching staff. The facilities were great, the campus was great. I felt like even if I didn’t play basketball I could see myself being a student there.”

Kessler, a 7-foot, 245-pound center, took an official visit to North Carolina this past weekend. He had previously taken visits to Auburn, Duke, and Michigan. Gonzaga was also on his list.

“The whole visit, I just thought I could see myself there, but when I really felt it, Walker [Miller] and I were walking down Franklin Street and we were just talking and I just said, ‘yeah this is the place.’”

“It was really a gut feeling honestly,” Kessler added.

Heading into his trip to Chapel Hill, Kessler wasn’t planning to commit to North Carolina. In fact, Carolina wasn’t considered the favorite to land Kessler heading into the visit. But while on campus he got a feeling it was the spot for him. 

“It was weird,” Kessler explained. “I knew this would probably be my last visit, maybe one more to Auburn. I didn’t think I was going to commit, I did not. I literally just had an ‘aha’ moment and I went with it.”

North Carolina’s history with post players factored into his decision making, according to Kessler, but he also noted that the school and campus fit him, regardless of his basketball aspirations.

“I just felt like it was a great place,” he said. “The main thing for me, and it really was the main thing for me, without basketball I could see myself being a student there, and I would be OK, and obviously I want to play basketball, but I could still see myself enjoying life at that school.”  

North Carolina’s pitch and comparison on the court centered on former North Carolina star Luke Maye.

“They showed a bunch of film of Luke Maye and said ‘this is literally how we are going to use you,’” Kessler said. “They said I was a bigger Luke Maye, ‘this is how we want to use you.’ Being a big that can shoot and stretch the floor was really appealing.”2COMMENTS

Kessler ranks as the No. 15 overall recruit and the No. 3 center in the 2020 recruiting class.

This is North Carolina’s second five-star commitment in the 2020 recruiting class. He joins fellow top 20 big man Day’Ron Sharpe to make up the No. 9 overall recruiting class in 2020.