Take one: He didn’t bite on a pull-up shot fake, so I pivoted and leaned left, hoping to get off a turnaround jumper. We agreed I would get up to three dribbles before shooting. Kessler gave me two chances from the top of the key. In the other corner, standing 6-2 (basketball rosters round up, right?): An Auburn beat writer whose basketball résumé includes high school JV manager and rec league brick specialist. The North Carolina transfer has recorded the second and third triple-doubles in Auburn basketball history this season, both with blocks (averaging 4.7 per game). In this corner: Kessler, who blocks 20.6% of opponents’ two-pointers while he’s on the floor - the highest individual block rate since Sports Reference began recording the stat in 2009. I wanted to see if The Common Man can score over college basketball’s greatest rim protector in years. Kessler finished his routine with three straight 3-pointers then made a bet with a team manager: If Kessler could make a half-court shot in one try, the manager must run a suicide. I was there to challenge the 7-foot-1 sophomore in an area he doesn’t need to fine-tune much: shot-blocking.Īn empty gym was the ideal stage for my humiliation. Watch Video: Watch: Trying to score over Auburn basketball’s elite shot blocker, Walker KesslerĪUBURN - Walker Kessler was the last player in the Auburn basketball practice gym Monday, working on his 3-pointer, when I approached him with a proposition.

Let me tell you why that's is bullshit