Michigan Basketball: 5 Incredibly talented targets for 2020 hoops

Walker Kessler

So Walker Kessler‘s dad, uncle, and brother played for the Georgia Bulldogs. I know what you’re going to say but just hear me out or rather, hear him out…

“I definitely have some Georgia blood in me, but no pipeline,” Kessler said back in April. “I’ve been growing up with Georgia my whole life, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going there; it doesn’t mean I’m not going there either, I’m just open to everyone at this point.”

And to top it all off, Walker named his top schools and Georgia was left out.

“Right now, I think I got a top five or top six,” Kessler said to 247 sports. “It’s more of schools that I feel like are heavily recruiting me: Michigan, Gonzaga, Auburn, Duke, UNC, I think that’s it.”

The 6-foot-10-inch mammoth man from Fairburn could very likely end up at Michigan instead of his legacy school and that would be spectacular for Howard and company. Kessler is a center/power forward that fits with Howard’s style of play as a traditional big man and he has the rankings of an elite star. 247Sports ranked Walker second from Georgia, No.4 at center, and 16th nationally. Hunter also holds five-stars and a near-perfect composite rating.

Offensively, Walker is very impressive with his court vision, always knowing where the defenders are. And he can hit the outside shots which is exactly what NBA teams want out of their near 7-foot and over club.

Defensively, Walker knows how long his arms are and he uses them to aggressively block whatever garbage his opponent throws up in the paint.

“Good size and build for a center while appearing to still be growing. Average athlete. Gets up and down the court, though.” Meyer wrote. “Greatest strength is a variety of scoring moves, including hook shots. Can stretch defense with shooting. Good hands and feel for the game. Positional rebounder and defender. Worst case scenario projects as a solid NBA backup center.”