Tennessee is looking to add a big man in their 2019 and 2020 classes in basketball if they can. And they just sent out an offer to one of the top centers in the 2020 recruiting cycle on Monday.
According to Dan McDonald of Rivals, the Vols are the latest team to send out an offer to five-star center Walker Kessler. He’s a 6-foot-10, 205-pound center who plays for Woodward Academy in Fairburn, Georgia.
Tennessee is the latest offer for 5-star 2020 big man Walker Kessler.
— Dan McDonald (@DMcDonaldRivals) September 10, 2018
Kessler, who’s just a junior in high school as of this semester, already holds offers from UCLA, Memphis, Vanderbilt, Xavier, Florida, Auburn, Virginia, Stanford, and others. According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Kessler is the No. 19 player in the 2020 class and is the No. 3 center in the cycle as well.
The rangy center has an official visit scheduled to Vanderbilt in less than two weeks, and he unofficially visited both Auburn and Georgia over the summer this year.
Kessler’s defense immediately stands out when looking at his highlight film from his sophomore year. He uses his height to his advantage and is a force in the paint for opposing forwards and guards. He’s a surprisingly good ball handler too, and he already has a variety of post moves developed. He has a pretty good jump shot and can shoot threes effectively as well. He’s a little more finesse than you might expect, but he can score down low still. But he has a nice fade away jumper and is a better shooter than most players his size.
As a sophomore for Woodward Academy, Kessler averaged 17.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks per game according to MaxPreps. He shot 54 percent overall from the floor and made 38 of his 87 three-pointers (43.7 percent) and sank 72.5 percent of his free throws as well.
Tennessee has now offered 10 prospects in the 2020 recruiting cycle, and Kessler is currently the second-highest player they’ve offered in the class. Only five-star shooting guard Jaden Springer is rated higher by the 247Sports Composite rankings, and those rankings have him listed as the No. 16 overall player.
Kessler is the third center the Vols have offered in the 2020 class. Tennessee has also sent out offers to four-star Justice Ajogbor in North Carolina and four-star Dain Dainja in Minnesota.
