Walker Kessler Wins Naismith Defensive POY

[toddc 13,194]

 

Auburn's Walker Kessler named Naismith Defensive Player of the Year

ByNATHAN KING 9 minutes ago

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Final Four Recap: No. 8 North Carolina Def. No. 2 Duke, 81-77

 

 

 

One of the best individual seasons in Auburn history has finally received the highest defensive honor.

Tigers center Walker Kessler was named the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year for the 2021-22 season, during an awards ceremony Sunday at the Final Four in New Orleans. Kessler won the national award over Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren, Duke's Mark Williams and Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe.

Kessler is the first national defensive player of the year in Auburn history. The North Carolina transfer also took home Auburn's first SEC Defensive Player of the Year accolades this season.

The former five-star recruit led college basketball in block rate, rejecting a shot on 19.1% of his defensive possessions — the highest rate in college basketball since at least 2009. He also led the nation in defensive plus/minus, holding opponents to 8.0 fewer points per game, per 100 defensive possessions.

After spending one season at UNC, Kessler emerged as one of the top players in the SEC this season. A third team AP All-American, Kessler averaged 11.4 points (60.8% from the floor) and 8.1 rebounds, while blocking 4.6 shots per game — tied for the best clip in the country (Western Kentucky's Jamarion Sharp). Kessler had at least seven blocks in nine games.

He recorded the second and third triple-doubles in Auburn history against LSU and Texas A&M, respectively, both with points, rebounds and blocks.

"I'm so proud of Walker," Bruce Pearl said during Auburn's NCAA tournament trip to Greenville. "One of the things I talked to Walker about before the game was just to relax and have some fun. He wants to win so badly because he doesn't want to disappoint his teammates. He doesn't want to disappoint his coach. He doesn't want to disappoint his family. And sometimes that can get in the way of just relaxing and playing. Every now and then, it catches up with him on the foul line because he wants it so bad. If you're just playing, you don't have time to think, you don't have to have that pressure.

"So for him to have success, for him to earn the respect of his teammates, and now be considered for the defensive player of the year, as well as making first team all-conference and a lot of the other awards, it just validates what I've known since the first time I laid eyes on him: that he was special and he was a great player. And he's proved it this sophomore year."

Kessler, projected as a first-round pick, has an NBA decision to make within the coming weeks. Underclassmen have until April 24 to enter their names into the NBA draft process.

 

[JDUBB4AU 5,121]

Well deserved. 

[Tiger 8,823]

That is a major, major award. Big props to Kessler

[GwillMac6 20,671]

6 hours ago, Tiger said:

That is a major, major award. Big props to Kessler

AU needs to honor it and treat it like we do for our national and major football award winners. Hang a huge banner outside or inside the arena commemorating it!!! War damn waaaaaallllkkkkkkk!!!!

[gravejd 3,270]

Definitely a huge accomplishment for Kessler. And really he may be one of the first big men to find big time success under Pearl. Definitely the first one since Pearl has been at AU. Hopefully Kessler's success leads to more big times centers choosing AU!