Houston Kessler steps up his game for Georgia

ATHENS -- Two years ago, Houston Kessler got his first taste of college basketball.

In an early February game against Auburn, the redshirt freshman was a surprise presence in the starting lineup in place of senior Donte' Williams, whom head coach Mark Fox was frustrated with after an unproductive stretch.

Almost exactly two years later, Kessler experienced the other side of things when, after starting much of the season next to Yante Maten, he was benched in favor of freshmen Derek Ogbeide and Mike Edwards for three straight games.

"Coach makes those decisions based on what he thinks is going to help us win," Kessler said. "I wasn't producing, that's why I got taken out."

Kessler watched his minutes dwindle to as few as six in a loss to Texas A&M before Ogbeide couldn't play much against Missouri due to illness.

As a veteran, Kessler stepped up in a big way and pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds to help Georgia slip past the Tigers, which earned Kessler a start against Arkansas, and he pulled down four rebounds and put up a season-high tying seven points.

"I just want to win," Kessler said. "That's the biggest thing so any way I can do that."

Instead of getting down on himself, Kessler responded to his benching "like veteran," as senior guard Charles Mann put it and worked his way back into the starting lineup.

"He's been in the program four years," Mann said. "He's seen it all, and he's a good player. He's a big key for us in order to have success this year."

Mann has a point in saying that Kessler has been important to the team's success this year. Although he hasn't been very productive on offense, averaging fewer than three points in 19 minutes per game, he has been an asset on the boards.

In games in which Kessler pulls down three or more rebounds, Georgia is 6-2. When he pulls down two or fewer, the Bulldogs are 3-4.

Kessler also provides a boost to the offense, just in a different way. Although he isn't scoring a lot, his knowledge of the system allows the offense to flow more freely, which helps create opportunities for the players around him.

"He knows pretty much everything that's going on already," Maten said. "It's not a big deal if Coach calls a quick play that he'll know what to do."

There are also aspects of Kessler's game that improve the Bulldogs that aren't quantifiable, most notably his leadership. As someone who has been in the program for four seasons, he has the most experience of anyone in the frontcourt. That is especially important because Georgia's forwards are so young.

"Houston has a really good work ethic," Maten said. "He's a leader on the court, and he knows our plays and our coverages, and that's something he has over the younger guys. We're still trying to bring them up to par with what we've got going on the offensive and defensive plan. Houston can move from either the four or five, and that's something we really do need, as well."

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 7:29 PM with the headline "Houston Kessler steps up his game for Georgia ."