CHAPEL HILL – Walker Kessler has been smiling lately, and it is something his teammates have noticed.

Caleb Love has known Kessler for a few years now. They played together at USA Basketball and arrived at UNC together as freshmen last summer already having some chemistry. That is one reason Love is so thrilled when his teammate is happy, and Kessler has had reasons to glow of late.

“He’s probably one of the toughest dudes on himself in practice, and on himself period, that I’ve seen in my whole life,” Love said, following UNC’s win over Northeastern on Wednesday night. “But seeing him succeed and seeing him smile is a great thing.”

In the last week, Kessler’s game has taken a gigantic step forward. In 13 games between the Tar Heels’ win over NC Central on Dec. 12 through a win at Duke two weeks ago, Kessler scored just 12 points and grabbed 22 rebounds in 60 total minutes of action. That comes out to 4.6 minutes per contest.

In a loss at Virginia last Saturday and then during Wednesday’s win over the Huskies, however, Kessler played 24 minutes scoring 19 points, pulled down 12 rebounds, had a steal that led to his own dunk, dished out a pair of assists, and racked up a couple of floor burns.

The McDonald's All-American many saw on the recruiting trail had arrived.

“I think for me the biggest thing is just kind of getting used to the flow of the game,” Kessler said, when asked Wednesday what the difference is in how he has played of late. “I think it was pretty apparent in my first couple games, just being out with COVID protocol, just getting back to the flow. I think that’s really just the biggest thing.”

To put things even more in perspective, in Carolina’s first 18 games, Kessler played 112 minutes, was 14-for-30 (46.7 percent) from the field, hauled down 36 rebounds, handed out one assist and had no steals.

Regardless of his numbers, hustle and energy have been associated with the 7-foot-1 native of Newnan, GA. The refinement of his body and game will come, but the buzz and inner drive to make stuff happen are already intertwined within.

“I’m not really the big bruiser type, but I hustle very hard,” Kessler said. “So just being able to get hustle rebounds, hustle steals stuff like that. And I really think that I have a lot of skill that really hasn’t been shown yet.”

Perhaps Kessler’s drive is part innate and part learned.

His father played basketball at Georgia and was a fifth-round pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in 1987. His brother played at Georgia from 2013-17, and his late uncle, Alec Kessler, was an All-America at Georgia in the late 1980s and played four years in the NBA. Success on the hardwood is a normal thing for Kesslers.

Naturally, life in his extended family has always been laced with a competitive spirit, whether on the athletic courts and fields, in the classroom – Walker was a member of the National Honor Society in high school – or whatever they are doing at that time.

Pushing the extra mile and burning to win have become learned traits.

“It was a great thing, but probably a side effect is being super hard on yourself,” Walker said about his competitive household. “I’ve definitely had to struggle with that. But I think I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it wasn’t for that. (I) push myself to work harder.”

Then came a dose of modern-day real life last November when Kessler was forced to quarantine due to COVID-19 protocols and missed a couple of weeks of practice leading up to the start of Carolina’s season.

UNC Coach Roy Williams noted following the opener that Kessler was way behind because he couldn’t really do anything during his quarantine. It set the Tar Heel big man back quite a bit and challenged him internally.

“It was really tough being locked in a hotel for 14 days right before the season starts,” Kessler said. “There was really nothing like it, not a precedent you can look back at – I guess like an injury…

“But I couldn’t sit in on the practices or anything. So that was tough for me but trying to get back into the flow for sure.”

Kessler appears to have finally fully made up that lost ground. The last two games have not just been a big guy producing numbers, but he was integral in the Tar Heels hanging somewhat within striking distance at UVA and in taking control versus Northeastern.

The player UNC fans have seen these last two games is the player the Tar Heels have seen more than glimpses of in practice. They recognize Kessler’s ceiling is quite high.

“He’s a great player, he’s got a great upside,” Love said.

And Kessler can flash a big smile when things are going well. Of late, they have.