Zep Jasper claps back at Skip Bayless over criticism of former Auburn star Walker Kessler

When it comes to the internet and social media, nothing is forgotten. Fox Sports’ Skip Bayless has made a living out of being one of the biggest trolls in the media over the past few decades. He’s not shy about criticizing anybody and everybody. Nobody is off-limits. That’s just the world he operates in. Last year, Bayless was shocked when Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said his old center, Walker Kessler, was going to be better in the NBA than former Gonzaga star Chet Holmgren. After Kessler had an excellent rookie season with the Utah Jazz, averaging 9.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game, former Auburn star Zep Jasper was quick to clap back on Bayless via Twitter earlier this week.

Jasper tweeted, “I BET HE DONT HAVE NUN TO SAY NOW.” While it sure does feel nice to chirp now, let’s keep in mind that Chet Holmgren didn’t even play at all the entire 2022-2023 NBA season. He broke his right foot injury in a Pro-Am event in the summer of 2022. Before going down with the injury, Holmgren averaged 14.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in five games for the Thunder in the Las Vegas Summer League.

Kessler has proved to be a dominant defensive force yet again in the NBA. Better yet, in the final month of his rookie year, he started to display the ceiling that so many people saw in him dating back to his high school days. On March 25th, Kessler poured in 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. The former Auburn star played in 74 games total, featuring 40 starts. His 2.3 blocks per game would have ranked him in the top 3 in the NBA in that stat category. Kessler also shot an impressive 75.7 percent from the field during his rookie campaign, the highest number in league history for a rookie. He finished third in the voting for Rookie of the Year.

Those are the kind of numbers many envisioned from him when he was ranked as the No. 4 center in America in the 2020 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

It won’t be easy for Holmgren to match Kessler’s rookie year numbers, especially on the defensive end of the floor and his ridiculous shooting percentage. Kessler also recently brought home All-Rookie honors from the NBA, so Holmgren has a tough act to follow. For now, Jasper can enjoy his moment with Bayless. We’ll have to wait until the end of Holmgren’s rookie campaign to get a better comparison. Even then, a more reasonable evaluation of both players would likely come a few years down the road.