Auburn, Bruce Pearl watching NBA to learn how to use size on court

Bruce Pearl has the tallest roster since arriving at Auburn and is learning how to use all of that size by watching the Los Angeles Lakers.

For the first time since Bruce Pearl arrived at Auburn in 2014, he’s going to have a good problem on the court in a lot of size.

With UNC transfer Walker Kessler (7-foot-1), J.T. Thor (6-foot-10), Babatunde Akingbola (6-foot-10) and Dylan Cardwell (6-foot-11), the Tigers now have four players, counting Thor, that can be mismatches in the interior. Yet how will Pearl and his staff keep everyone happy with playing time and get the most out of their skills? The Auburn coach is learning by watching the reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

“Everybody knows that they’re better when the big fella (Davis) plays the 5 and LeBron plays the 4,” Pearl said per AuburnSports.com Bryan Matthews. “Well, they’ve got a couple of centers that need to be out there. All of a sudden, they’re all playing out of position. They’re bigger. What could they be doing better?

“I watch the Lakers really carefully, because we’re probably going to be bigger. So, taking advantage of our size and it not being a weakness. Letting it be a strength and a problem for our opponents.”

The arrival of Kessler, a former five-star recruit, is one of the top gets in all of college basketball this offseason as he brings a versatility to the position that Auburn hasn’t had in the past.

When you add in Jaylin Williams (6-foot-8) and incoming freshman Jabari Smith Jr. (6-foot-9), you also have three big guys that can shoot from the outside.

“I think the thing is, you look at every team and look at what we have. We’re gonna be really big at 4 and 5, bigger than we’ve ever been,” Pearl said. “We’ve got really skilled guys at the position. Dylan is really getting skilled. He’s really mobile. Walker is really mobile. Stretch is really mobile. Jaylin and Jabari are really skilled. I’ve got five really good frontline guys. So that’s going to be different.”

Auburn, Bruce Pearl watching NBA to learn how to use size on court

Bruce Pearl has the tallest roster since arriving at Auburn and is learning how to use all of that size by watching the Los Angeles Lakers.

For the first time since Bruce Pearl arrived at Auburn in 2014, he’s going to have a good problem on the court in a lot of size.

With UNC transfer Walker Kessler (7-foot-1), J.T. Thor (6-foot-10), Babatunde Akingbola (6-foot-10) and Dylan Cardwell (6-foot-11), the Tigers now have four players, counting Thor, that can be mismatches in the interior. Yet how will Pearl and his staff keep everyone happy with playing time and get the most out of their skills? The Auburn coach is learning by watching the reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

“Everybody knows that they’re better when the big fella (Davis) plays the 5 and LeBron plays the 4,” Pearl said per AuburnSports.com Bryan Matthews. “Well, they’ve got a couple of centers that need to be out there. All of a sudden, they’re all playing out of position. They’re bigger. What could they be doing better?

“I watch the Lakers really carefully, because we’re probably going to be bigger. So, taking advantage of our size and it not being a weakness. Letting it be a strength and a problem for our opponents.”

The arrival of Kessler, a former five-star recruit, is one of the top gets in all of college basketball this offseason as he brings a versatility to the position that Auburn hasn’t had in the past.

When you add in Jaylin Williams (6-foot-8) and incoming freshman Jabari Smith Jr. (6-foot-9), you also have three big guys that can shoot from the outside.

“I think the thing is, you look at every team and look at what we have. We’re gonna be really big at 4 and 5, bigger than we’ve ever been,” Pearl said. “We’ve got really skilled guys at the position. Dylan is really getting skilled. He’s really mobile. Walker is really mobile. Stretch is really mobile. Jaylin and Jabari are really skilled. I’ve got five really good frontline guys. So that’s going to be different.”

ESPN ranks Walker Kessler as second-best offseason transfer

Auburn received a big gift in the form of five-star center Walker Kessler, a transfer from UNC, who will play for the Tigers in 2021.

Auburn got some good news in April when former five-star recruit Walker Kessler, a center from the University of North Carolina, announced that he will be playing for the Tigers in 2021.

How big is it? According to ESPN, Kessler is the second-best pickup in the nation during the offseason.

“A former five-star prospect, Kessler really showed flashes of his ability toward the end of the season. He had a four-game stretch in February when he scored in double-figures in each one, and he posted 16 points, 12 boards and eight blocks against Notre Dame in the ACC tournament.”

Ranked behind just Remy Martin, who has yet to announce his destination, Kessler will be the starting center for Auburn when the season begins and gives the Tigers plenty of size with his 7-foot-1, 245-pound frame.

LOOK: Jabari Smith pumped about playing with Walker Kessler

Incoming five-star power forward Jabari Smith reacted to the news of Auburn landing Walker Kessler with joy on Monday.

Jabari Smith’s arrival on Auburn’s campus was already being hype. Now, with the addition of North Carolina transfer Walker Kessler, the Tigers and Bruce Pearl are going to be even better.

Smith seems especially excited about the arrival of Kessler, posting a response to the news on his Instagram feed.

A five-star recruit out of Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, Georgia, Smith is the top-ranked player ever to sign with the Tigers, taking over for Sharife Cooper. Kessler was also a five-star recruit in the 2020 class and the No. 22 overall recruit in the nation.

Twitter reacts to Auburn landing UNC transfer Walker Kessler

UNC transfer center and former five-star recruit Walker Kessler announced that he will be playing for Auburn.

Auburn fans were a bit excited on Monday evening and for good reason.

Former five-star recruit and North Carolina transfer center Walker Kessler announced that he has committed to play for the Tigers and Bruce Pearl next season.

As usual, Twitter was all over the news.