Georgia lands legacy Houston Kessler as final signee of 2012 hoops class
We now know who was Georgia’s “Plan B” to Tony Parker.
Houston Kessler, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward out of Landmark Christian School in Fairburn, signed with the Bulldogs on Tuesday night and faxed in his signed letter-of-intent Wednesday morning, his coach confirmed.
“They have been watching him since his sophomore year,” Landmark Christian coach Chip McAllister said via email. “They have always really liked him. He had a huge year this year and as the season wore on things just fell into place.”
Kessler is a UGA legacy, the son of former Georgia basketball player Chad Kessler and the nephew of the late Alec Kessler, who starred for the Bulldogs’ 1990 SEC championship team. Kessler averaged 22 points and 11 rebounds as a senior at the Class A private school and finished as Landmark’s career scoring leader at 1,600 points. The War Eagles have gone 39-16 over the past two seasons, including a 20-8 mark in 2012 that was capped by a Round of 16 showing in the Class A state tournament.
“Houston is a skilled forward,” coach Mark Fox said in a statement released by UGA. “He is a great shooter and rebounder and we are looking forward to having him join our team next year.”
McAllister described Kessler as a great shooter and rebounder and “very hard worker.”
“He’s still developing as a player,” McAllister said. “He has a huge upside. He’s still growing. Phenomenal kid, brilliant student, Salutatorian of his class. Underrated athleticism. Diamond in the rough.”
Kessler becomes the fourth and final member of Georgia’s 2012 recruiting class. He joins 6-4 guard Kenny Gaines of Whitefield Academy, 6-6 guard Charles Mann of Milton and 6-8 forward Brandon Morris of Miller Grove.
Parker, a 6-9, 280-pound forward from Miller Grove and a McDonald’s All-American, chose UCLA over UGA on Monday.
– Chip Towers, The UGA Blog
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85 comments Add your comment
bjohndawg
April 25th, 2012
10:22 am
Great to have him as a Dawg. Hope he plays like his brothers.
In the end this might work out best for Fox, as you would think he is there for four years.
And he wants to be at UGA.
epic quibble
April 25th, 2012
10:22 am
DGD! Welcome home!
bjohndawg
April 25th, 2012
10:23 am
Good to see this happening.
Hope he can contribute like his father and late uncle.
OH! Boy
April 25th, 2012
10:30 am
Whoopi!!! That’s a great replacement for Parker….NOT. UGA basketball should jut go intramural and play the late night college kids
Lowcountry Bulldawg
April 25th, 2012
10:31 am
Welcome Houston! Alec was a DGD and proud to have you in Athens!
Bulldawg class of 78
April 25th, 2012
10:33 am
Finally, a REAL BULLDAWG! I am tired of spoiled players. We have a smart, talented, HUNGRY, Dawg! I have coached h.s. basketball and taught for 33 years. I used to support AAU. No longer.
Judge Dawg
April 25th, 2012
10:33 am
I hoped that he would be the plan B. We will get more our of him in 4 years than Parker in 2.
Mike
April 25th, 2012
10:34 am
Sounds like he’s 2 or 3 inches taller than his Dad was already. Chad was good and had great fundamentals and could have used some more height. I’m thinking Houston will turn out to be a good player. Not suprised he’s a good student.
LakeDawg
April 25th, 2012
10:35 am
If he has the athleticism and basketball smarts of his father and uncle he will be a great pick up.
Destin Dawg
April 25th, 2012
10:36 am
YEAH !!! Go Dawgs… BBall program going up hill !!!
One of pepper's old players
April 25th, 2012
10:36 am
As a tech alum, I have to say that there are few players that I enjoyed watching more than Chad and Alec. Nobody worked harder and nobody played to their potential like those guys. Great students and great citizens…Houston will be good for UGA and unlike that prima donna, he will be thrilled to be a bulldog.
Jacket Man
April 25th, 2012
10:44 am
Great news for Houston and the Bulldog Nation. Congratulations and best of luck in Athens; don’t forget to get your great education as a scholar athlete and you’ll be set for life.
Chase
April 25th, 2012
10:45 am
Kid sounds like a player, excited to see him play. Glad to hear he’s part of a legacy too, that’s always a good thing at UGA. Forget Tony Parker and his hollywood bull crap. Donte Williams is gonna bulk up this offseason and CMF is gonna build him and Kessler up into a dominating inside presence hopefully. Go Dawgs!
Boulder Molder
April 25th, 2012
10:47 am
yeah…right…
RHall55
April 25th, 2012
10:50 am
Now. it is time for Coach Will (Gomer) Friend to get some OL!! C’mon Man, do your job!!!
BigTimeTechFan
April 25th, 2012
11:01 am
Oh yea, Chad and Alec were friends from HS, great guys. I played with both and they were awesome. Chad was better in HS but I only knew him his senior year so he was already developed, Alex was good, I went away to Marine Corps and came back and he dunked on me hard (summer before UGA inroll) and just smiled like I got you now.
I’ll always remember Alec, he was great kid, great player and very smart, was top accademic All-American for all NCAA sports, Micro-biology major, and 1st round NBA pick.
Chad was just as good of a guy and congrats to his son. If he’s anything like his dad and uncle he will represent UGA well.
BigTimeTechFan
April 25th, 2012
11:02 am
academic
BigDawg
April 25th, 2012
11:20 am
Welcome to UGA!
Sweet Home Alabama
April 25th, 2012
11:27 am
Sweet Home endorses this transaction.One year vs four.good deal.
ROLL TIDE ROLL………….
Mateo
April 25th, 2012
11:42 am
Isn’t it a contradiction that he’s a brilliant student and a future UGA enrollee? I didn’t know you could be both in order to get into the farming school!
Dap01
April 25th, 2012
11:43 am
I would rather have Kessler than an egotistical one and done player. Kessler will be a great Bulldawg.
Who was impressed with Parker’s Lebron like announcement earlier this week. I am glad he took his talentZ elsewhere.
TheTruth
April 25th, 2012
11:45 am
Team GPA will go up, he will be there at least 4 years, and he may develop into an outstanding player. Win Win!
Lakerman
April 25th, 2012
11:46 am
Congrats on seeing Houston Kessler continue the family legacy with Georgia Basketball. I saw both his and his uncle play in HS at Roswell, then continue their stellar collegiate careers at Georgia. Houston is already the same size as his dad (Chad is 6-foot-8), and could develop into a tremendous player both on and off the court. You guys are right – the Dawgs will get more out of Kessler in four seasons than they would have out of Parker in one or two.
Hummon
April 25th, 2012
11:48 am
Amen, Dap01. I started watching that thing hopeful we would get him and finished up almost (not totally, but almost) relieved that we didn’t.
black1
April 25th, 2012
11:51 am
Ok there these kid really 6″4, 6″6, and 6″8. How about two inches shorter I bet
Birddawg
April 25th, 2012
11:57 am
Good deal, hopefully he can add some weight/muscle. They definitely need more big men.
T Dawg
April 25th, 2012
11:59 am
Mateo if I;m not mistaken Alex was a Rhodes Scholar and graduated in the medical field. When was the last time one of your player’s graduated with such a pedigree other than car jacking?
Nice to have a real Georgia kid staying home instead of some pompous arse jerk.
poopdawg
April 25th, 2012
12:15 pm
A big guy that can shoot and hustles is always an asset. His dad was a DGD. Congrats Houston !
DawginLex
April 25th, 2012
12:17 pm
His dad and his uncle were DGD’s.
Hope this kid can grow and mature and get stronger and be a help in the paint.
Face facts, he is no tony Parker but he will be around 4 years and his posse is a lot easier to deal with
AltamahaDawg
April 25th, 2012
12:27 pm
Very good memories of the Kessler Brothers in my days. I like this a lot.
59bulldawg
April 25th, 2012
12:29 pm
If he is anything like his dad and uncle (and I suspect he will be if not already) then we just picked up a hell of a player who will hard and help us. Great pick up! I enjoyed watching his dad and brother play and I really like this signing! Good move coach!
AltamahaDawg
April 25th, 2012
12:31 pm
Never forget watching his dad force Shaq to foul out that fine spring day.
Or his Uncle kicking my butt in a Physics class one summer.
Dawg Alum
April 25th, 2012
12:36 pm
This great news!!! A very bright, hard working super player who will be with us for four years. Parker would have been great, but high maintenance and most likely a “1 and done” type player.
tony
April 25th, 2012
12:37 pm
I wish Kessler the best but I am very sadden that Tony Parker didn’t sign with the dawgs because I was looking forward to watching him play. Good luck to the young man. UGA is No. 2 in the nation in football revenue(71mil), trailing only Texas and should consider using some of that money to build a state of the art basketball arena and maybe hire a very good hc(Brad Stevens) who knows how to relate to today’s players………that is if Fox doesn’t work out.
This state has produce enough nba star players that if UGA and GT had had better basketball arenas and the best coaches that money can buy, I believe both programs would have won many championships. Those things would inspire these young men to want to play for their home state.
Star NBA Players From GA:
Elmore Smith
1) Walt Frazier
2) World B. Free
3) Norm Nixon
4) Wilbur Holland
5) Mike Mitchell
6) Lloyd Neal
7) Robert Reid
9) Shareef Abdur-Rahim
10) Dale Ellis
11) Derek Harper
12) Horace Grant
13) Dwight Howard
14) Josh Smith
Ole Yeller Dawg
April 25th, 2012
12:39 pm
Another Todd Van Poppel to Chipper Jones story all over again! Welcome Houston you have DGD DNA!
WOW !!!
April 25th, 2012
12:41 pm
Congrats to UGA. This kid is fantastic. Athletic, already competes at a very high level, aggressive, and very smart. Yeah for Houston !!!! And I agree….hey Tony Paker, as NJ Govenor Christie told the Nets who are headed to Brooklyn, “go on, I don’t want you here anymore”. Tony Parker’s BIG Lebron like “I’m taking my talents to UCLA”……GOOD RIDDANCE YOU JOKE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dawg Haus
April 25th, 2012
12:45 pm
Great news! Congrats and welcome to the Bulldog Nation, Houston!
TX Jacket
April 25th, 2012
12:47 pm
Good for him and y’all. He sounds like a student athlete that any program would be proud to have at the college/team. Echoing others, I would rather have a hard worker for 4 years than a prima donna for 1 or 2.
What??
April 25th, 2012
12:49 pm
No 1 hour announcement party?? What’s up with this kid?? You mean he actually has class, sportsmanship, and has a solid core group of folks giving him advice??
No AAU coach bending his ear???
collegeballfan
April 25th, 2012
12:53 pm
This gives Fox a solid 4 man class. Kessler has a lot of room to grow as a player. Not signing this player would have been a mistake. This will partially make up for Fox not retaining Daniel Miller.
You UGA grads need to keep selling out the house for all home games.
bucket
April 25th, 2012
1:14 pm
In my opinion this is the approach that CMF needs to take in recruiting. We all want the 4 and 5 star great athletes that give you instant success, but with UGA’s basketball tradition it’s going to be really hard to convince those types of players to say no to Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, UCLA, etc. Fox needs to go after the less heralded and perhaps less talented players (initially) that he can coach up and hang onto for 3 or 4 years and build the program into a consistent winner. With all the talent that is in this state Fox should be able to find plenty of those type of guys who want to play @ UGA. If Kessler grows into the type of player that his dad and uncle was, he will make all Dawg fans proud!
To RHall
April 25th, 2012
1:15 pm
If you are a UGA fan, I have good news for you. The Dogs will be taking 6-7 OL in this class likely, and most will be in-state guys. Just be patient. We should be getting commits from 2-3 in the near future, and close on some others this summer.
If you are not a UGA fan, the above is bad news for you. There is a bumper crop of big uglies out there this year and the Dogs are going to clean up in that area.
As for Kessler, I remember watching his uncle and father play. Good pickup for the Dogs, though not a flashy one.
McDawg
April 25th, 2012
1:16 pm
forget about Parker move on
phil
April 25th, 2012
1:19 pm
“He’s still developing as a player,” McAllister said. “He has a huge upside. He’s still growing.
*************
In other words, he isn’t any good.
Yawn.
Fire CMF!!
Dawg1
April 25th, 2012
1:21 pm
Tech fans – class post. And you should know that the other school in the running was Georgia Tech.
My son is in his class. He is everything written and what you hear. Great kid, great parents. I know Landmark will miss him for a lot more reasons that have nothing to do with basketball.
Will represent God, family, himself and Georgia well…
phil
April 25th, 2012
1:22 pm
AltamahaDawg
April 25th, 2012
12:31 pm
Never forget watching his dad force Shaq to foul out that fine spring day.
*************
I was at that game and it was indeed a fine day! Unfortunate that 22 years later, we still stink on average and have never come close to that 1990 team…
Fire CMF!!
BigTimeTechFan
April 25th, 2012
1:26 pm
anyone know of a kid name .Reuben Foster, I met him and he said he was a HS player. He said he was being recruited and was going to Alabama.
Is he any good, he seem like nice kid. Pretty big, I’m guessing he plays LB or RB
I asked him about Tech and he said he was planning on visiting, had friend there and would like to go to Tech.
Mateo
April 25th, 2012
1:36 pm
and I’m a loser:(
Bama Pride
April 25th, 2012
1:48 pm
Here are words you do not necessarily want to hear about regarding signees:
– huge upside
– great potential
– diamond in the rough
– underrated athleticism
“SETTLE” is the word to describe what just happened.
Let’s put this into context of what just happened; UGA could not land proven bonafide targets – so they had to “SETTLE” on kids to get bodies into the program.
And UGA basketball is STILL in rebuild mode entering Coach Fox’s 4th year.
Why?
1. Because UGA basketball is very comparable to INDIANA FOOTBALL.
2. The real talent wants to go to UCLA, Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Florida, Mich. State, etc. Just like the top recruits in football want to go to ALABAMA, USC, Ohio State, etc.
NO ELITE talent wants to go
kingster
April 25th, 2012
1:59 pm
Good for Mr. Kessler, I’m happy for him and I wish him well, but why did he have to plan B,does this mean if Tony Parker had said yes, would Mr. Kessler have to walk on or go somewhere else, you guys are some very funny and mean dawgs.
Moneyball
April 25th, 2012
2:06 pm
Had I known that this was “Plan B”, I would have been wishing for “Plan A” to fall through. I, for one, am glad that it played out this way.
kingster
April 25th, 2012
2:08 pm
Ha, ha, the football team doesn’t mind dipping into the GT legacy, sometime I wonder how UGA people and coaches can look at themself, all is fair as long as they win, this is sad, but when Paul Johnson leaves and we get a real coach, Tech is going be nationally like we use to be, but right now we fighting hard to stay ahead of Div II team, whooooo boy!!!
Hoopster
April 25th, 2012
2:23 pm
Congrats for this kid. He had 1 other “big-time” offer, Mississippi State. The rest were from………
HardTruth Soldier
April 25th, 2012
2:28 pm
Ya’ll lost nothing in Tony Parker, he’s Big slow, and Lazy. He’ll be just like the kid that they compared to Dwight Howard (Zach Randolph) who became a huge failure.
Frank Lane
April 25th, 2012
2:55 pm
Great News! Much rather have another Kessler than Parker.
Eisendawg
April 25th, 2012
3:38 pm
What I really like is he didn’t hold a press conference and make us wait an hour. I’d rather have a hard working player who will put team first and spare us the drama.
Promethius
April 25th, 2012
3:48 pm
Now this is the kind of kid UGa or anyone else can be proud of. Too bad we don’t go after enough of this ilk.
Peach Fuzz
April 25th, 2012
3:49 pm
I agree, rather have this type guy (like Tyler Zeller at UNC) who can really make you proud of your school. Although, I don’t believe Parker was a dummy either.
gg
April 25th, 2012
3:58 pm
Totally happy with this outcome! Better in the long run, too.
Hey Bama Pride: Get real. It ain’t Bama they want. It’s the coach! Otherwise, how do you explain all those years prior to Sabin?
Dawg Whisperer
April 25th, 2012
4:11 pm
@Alabama Pride…. and the reason Alabama is not on anyone’s list to relocate a business is because all you think about is football. If you are as one dimensional as your post suggests, then I suppose you are content with that. Kessler is exactly what UGA needs with what he brings both athletically and academically.
Gary
April 25th, 2012
4:34 pm
As much as I would have liked to have seen Parker a bulldog, this may actually work out for the best. I remember the Kessler brothers and the great contributions they made on and off the court. Having the next generation continue that tradition could once again elevate the program to where it should be. Fox will make a star out of him, watch and see.
VinceVanGo
April 25th, 2012
5:17 pm
I love the name Houston, his dad must have for seen a basketball career when he was born. I think that if Mark Fox continues to get 2, 3, and an occasional 4 star recruits he will get 4 year players that will stay and learn to play as a team and make the Dogs competitive year in and year out and occasionally have a real good year when they have an abundance of upper class-man. Fox can definitely coach up his players, so if they play team ball and hard nosed defense we Bulldog fans will be proud. Stay away from the 5 Star, head in the clouds, one & done recruits. Georgia doesn’t need them. Very few colleges can be successful with them.
Bob
April 25th, 2012
5:40 pm
Didn’t realize Parker was so fat…6′9″, 290 lbs…sounds like back, knee, and stamina problems. Welcome aboard Mr. Kessler.
D-MAN
April 25th, 2012
5:52 pm
Great to have a white player,good to see,they will hustle!
Big time?? Not
April 25th, 2012
8:00 pm
Having watched both of the earlier Kesslers many times………great! And good to have someone who WANTS to be a dog.
Big time?? Not
April 25th, 2012
8:01 pm
Oh. Four tickets, four hotdogs, four cokes.
1953dawg
April 25th, 2012
8:09 pm
You guys are hilarious. You would rather have a 2 star player that has his father’s name than a 4 star player that will help UGA win games. It’s this type of attitude that has made UGA mediocre. Fans will convince themselves that these projects will win games when they have to play against 4 and 5 star recruit at other SEC programs. The sad part of this whole story is that Fox once again has proven he can’t recruit top Georgia talent, and unfortunately he want be at UGA for 4 or 5 years to watch this marginal player develop. Fox has one more year, and he will be gone. He will have his 3rd losing record this coming winter out of 4 seasons, and he will and he should be gone. He is in one of best states in the country for high school basketball, and he can’t do a damn thing about it. A coach is judged by his won-loss record, fan attendance, fan support, and recruiting. Fox has not succeeded in any of these. And if you UGA fans want to continue to believe that this recruit is better for UGA, then that is where the problem lies. UGA fans are the most gullible fans in the SEC. They love mediocrity, and they have been living in it for more than 30 years, so why try and change things now. They have the right A.D. in place to continue with this pathetic MEDIOCRITY!!
PTC DAWG
April 25th, 2012
8:55 pm
I like when fans show some class on these blogs. Unfortunately, that is all too rare.
Congrats to Kessler.
Pensacola dawg
April 25th, 2012
9:11 pm
Good luck ti the kis. Sad his unclle Alex is no longer with us to watch him play. Alex was a DGD he is in heaven looking down on his nephew.
3 & 8 is still Gator Bait
April 25th, 2012
9:39 pm
To the genius that thinks building fine, new arenas is the answer to keeping local talent here-Have you ever been to Duke? Cameron Indoor Stadium is not exactly a state of the art facility. Also, Derek Harper was from Florida, not Georgia. Dwight Howard & Josh Smith went straight to the NBA as did Lou Williams & others. Check your facts before you start running off at the mouth.
Pago Pago DAWG
April 25th, 2012
9:48 pm
We bet he doesn’t wear deadlocks!
Reporter Dawg
April 25th, 2012
10:24 pm
Great to have another Kessler!
nobody
April 25th, 2012
10:43 pm
get used to no-name players…until Coach Fox proves he can win with the “no-names”, he want have much opportunity at recruiting kids like Tony Parker … the Tony Parkers of the world are looking for the big bucks and are not interested in the emotion associated with playing for the “home state school” because the home state school has yet to prove that it can win enough to give the “big names” t.v. exposure in big time games
Reporter Dawg
April 25th, 2012
10:49 pm
1953Dawg, what are you talking about? 30 years? Try 100 years! Georgia hoops have been irrelevant since the 1930’s. Why? The AD, the Athletic Board and the leadership. Why would you blame the fans? Are you nuts? Where do the fans play a role in hiring a coach, paying a decent staff, establishing a decent budget, establishing a decent facility, establish a very good recruiting process? They don’t. Blame the Athletic Administration PERIOD. They have set the standard for decades. They do not believe they can win, so they don’t fund the program appropriately. Then they use their marketing to drum up support and act like they care. Meanwhile, none of them show up for basketball games. NONE. I cancelled my season tickets for football this season after 11 years because of the obvious lack of commitment to win championships.
Reporter Dawg
April 25th, 2012
10:54 pm
People, it’s NOT the facility. It’s the culture and the tradition. Georgia doen’t spend enough money to recruit and doesn’t have decent pay plans for the assistants. That has been an ongoing problem for YEARS. Why do people not understand that?! Because they have no clue what it takes to win in college basketball. Georgia has the resources but refuses to use them. Hoard the money made from football and only use it to fund football stuff and more women’s sports. We have a halfway decent baseball program, but hoops is ranked last in Athens. No proper commitment.
thwg
April 25th, 2012
11:14 pm
Parker didn’t pick ucla over uga u morons. I heard his coach on the radio. Uga wasn’t even in the top 5. It was ucla over duke, ky, Kansas. Uga as he stated “wasnt on the same level as the others”. No chit!
thwg
April 25th, 2012
11:24 pm
Let me guess, this noname mediocre kessler guy picked uga over ky. Actually I hear it came down to uga or he wa s gonna join the military! What a looser program. Btw, 4-3 jackets win another series against the dawgs. Can’t wait to run all over that redneck grantham’s d next fall unless he gets suspended for a bar fight over the summer. Uga d is a joke. There stats were padded by.playing the bottom of the conference. Looking forward to the slaughter in mizzou
BiggieSmalls
April 26th, 2012
1:14 am
What an absolute waste of a ’ship! This kid couldn’t play at Valdosta St. I saw him several times this year and he is AWFUL. Simply put, he is a skinny NERD. His uncle was pretty good (a different era by the way), but his father was awful as well (i.e. apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree…in fact, the apple doesn’t even fall off the tree at all in this case). Fox gets the Heisman from Tony Parker, and then turns around and gives this guy a free ride? This move is equally as pathetic as it is desperate…goodbye Fox, make sure you turn the lights off when you leave the building!!!! Biggie
Tupac
April 26th, 2012
1:30 am
That was pretty harsh, Biggie. Why don’t you go crawl back in bed with your boyfriend, Paul?!
Hotdawg
April 26th, 2012
7:57 am
Parker will come crawling back in about a year after he figures out that the lure of California isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Glad to have another Kessler! Good kid and good student along with the legacy.
lovinlife
April 26th, 2012
8:31 am
Congratulations to Houston & the Kessler family! So proud to have a talented kid on & off the court who not only will be an asset to the team but to society as well. Not only will he have played basketball at UGA he will have the college degree to go along with it & give back to society just like his father, an incredible surgeon & late uncle did up until his death. So many athletes only go to college to pursue being drafted & when that fails have nothing to turn to. Glad to know Houston has a family who will help guide & direct his path for the future!
a
Jonk
April 26th, 2012
11:55 am
Who cares about That Tony…who knows he mite be busted player later on in life, i am happy with the kids we got right now, all they need is a good guidance and coach
AL ISasafetyschool
April 26th, 2012
4:59 pm
Alabama Pride had to talking about the only good thing in Tusk-a-loser….foosball, since no self respecting Georgia high school grad would be caught dead enrolling a such a crappy extension of a junior high.
More Tony Parker fallout … and UGA’s “Plan B” | cellphoneplansreviews.com
April 26th, 2012
9:29 pm
[...] For a story on Houston Kessler by a AJC’s Chip Towers, please go here. [...]
Monroe's First Redcoat
April 27th, 2012
9:33 am
This DAWG has a great pedigree! I’m not worried that he played in the smallest GHSA division – so did Trey Thompkins…..