University of Memphis Athletics
Photo by: Joe Murphy
Dedication Personified
Feb 27, 2017 | Men's Basketball
It's hard to leave your first love – even in sports. That's the story of Christian Kessee's athletics career.
As a five-year-old, Kessee's mom enrolled him in little league football, and it was love at the first touch of the ball. That love grew quickly for two reasons. One, Kessee was great at football. And two, his teams were always winning.
"My mom put me in Pop Warner football when I was really young," said Kessee. "I liked the team I played on because we were winning all the time. We were one of the best teams in the city. The team I was on grew up winning, and as with any sport, when you win, you love it."
Kessee quarterbacked his squads to several winning seasons, but he noticed something that made him realize he was going to have to give up on his first love.
"I was a really good football player before high school," Kessee said. "My problem when I got to high school was I couldn't gain weight easily. You can be a good football player with skills, but if you're at 160 pounds playing against guys 200 pounds or heavier, it isn't going to matter how skilled you are. You're just not big enough, and that was me."
So, Kessee had to leave football, and he turned to basketball, a sport he had played a little during football off-seasons growing up. However, these days with kids "prepped" in certain sports at younger and younger ages, Kessee, along with his father, knew he'd have to play catch-up on the courts throughout his high school career.
"My freshman year in high school, I moved to basketball and told my father I loved it and really wanted to do this," said Kessee. "These days, kids starting playing basketball at five, six-years-old, and here I am playing my first summer ball after my freshman year of high school. We knew I was behind, so my dad and I put a lot of time into developing my game. We did a lot of research and worked out 2-to-3 times a day. I can't thank my father enough for his help."
Another person that helped Kessee with his quick growth in basketball was a cousin who definitely knew a thing or two about the sport. Kessee's cousin: five-time NBA All-Star and 1977 college basketball National Player of the Year Marques Johnson.
Johnson lived four hours away from Kessee and his family, so they made regular trips to Johnson's home for advice. Johnson starred at UCLA and actually played against Memphis in the 1974-75 season. In the Bruins' 113-94 win over the Tigers that season, Johnson had eight points, six rebounds and four assists.
"When I caught the basketball bug, Marques is the first person my dad reached out to," Kessee said. "Marques gave us advice on what to do, what to work on. He told me he may come to a couple of games this season."
Johnson's advice and Kessee's quick work turned the 6-foot-1, 182-pound guard into a steady performer on the court. By his senior season at Valley High School in Las Vegas, Kessee averaged 19.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals. He helped lead his Vikings squad to a 21-6 overall record and a 12-3 Sunrise Conference mark.
Kessee's play grabbed the eyes of college recruiters, and he ended up at Coppin State. In four short years, the former Pop Warner quarterback turned into an NCAA Division I level guard. And, as he did in high school, Kessee had to work hard to develop his game in his three years at the Baltimore, Md., college.
As a freshman, Kessee saw limited time in 18 games and averaged 1.7 points and hit only two treys. He made a tremendous jump as a sophomore, starting 26 of 31 games and averaging 9.6 points. He made 51 three-pointers and shot 39.8 percent from the arc, which was fifth-best in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
By his junior season, Kessee was one of the MEAC's top three-point weapons. He hit 88 treys and shot 39.5 percent from the arc. His 88 three-pointers led the Eagles in 2015-16 and also are among the top-10 for most treys made in a season in program history. Kessee led Coppin State and was 12th in the MEAC in scoring (14.6 ppg).
Kessee finished his three seasons at Coppin State with 781 points and 141 three-pointers made. He shot 38.5 percent from the arc. His 141 treys and 38.5 percentage both are in the top-10 in Eagles' history.
"It was a great experience to go to Coppin (State)," Kessee said. "I learned so much there. Coppin brought a lot to me, and I'm blessed I was able to attend. Going to Coppin has opened a lot of doors for me."
One door it opened was an opportunity to use his final season of college basketball as a graduate transfer. Kessee graduated from Coppin State with a degree in business management last spring, and afterwards, began looking for another school to pursue a master's degree and also play basketball. He looked around at several schools, and Memphis caught his interest.
"Coach Pooh (Williamson) called me after the staff got settled in here," said Kessee. "They watched me on film and thought I could add something to the program."
Assistant coach Pooh Williamson added, "Looking at the squad we had returning, we saw we needed some perimeter shooting, and Christian fit what we were looking for. We reached out to those who could give us insights on Christian as a player and a person, and that kind of turned us on to him."
After a visit to the Bluff City, Kessee made it official. Next stop: Memphis.
"The love from the fans brought me here," said Kessee, who is a liberal studies major and is taking business and sociology classes at the University. "Back in 2008, I watched some of the Memphis games on television, and it was amazing all the fans that were here and how crazy they were. It was better than NBA games.
"Now, that I'm here, I can see that. I'm a new face, but once fans find out I'm a Tigers player, they love to be around and talk to you. I had a fan tell me he was up one night at 1 a.m., learning Coach Smith's defenses. I haven't heard of that dedication before."
Fans, though, have seen that dedication – from Kessee himself.
As a five-year-old, Kessee's mom enrolled him in little league football, and it was love at the first touch of the ball. That love grew quickly for two reasons. One, Kessee was great at football. And two, his teams were always winning.
"My mom put me in Pop Warner football when I was really young," said Kessee. "I liked the team I played on because we were winning all the time. We were one of the best teams in the city. The team I was on grew up winning, and as with any sport, when you win, you love it."
Kessee quarterbacked his squads to several winning seasons, but he noticed something that made him realize he was going to have to give up on his first love.
"I was a really good football player before high school," Kessee said. "My problem when I got to high school was I couldn't gain weight easily. You can be a good football player with skills, but if you're at 160 pounds playing against guys 200 pounds or heavier, it isn't going to matter how skilled you are. You're just not big enough, and that was me."
So, Kessee had to leave football, and he turned to basketball, a sport he had played a little during football off-seasons growing up. However, these days with kids "prepped" in certain sports at younger and younger ages, Kessee, along with his father, knew he'd have to play catch-up on the courts throughout his high school career.
"My freshman year in high school, I moved to basketball and told my father I loved it and really wanted to do this," said Kessee. "These days, kids starting playing basketball at five, six-years-old, and here I am playing my first summer ball after my freshman year of high school. We knew I was behind, so my dad and I put a lot of time into developing my game. We did a lot of research and worked out 2-to-3 times a day. I can't thank my father enough for his help."
Another person that helped Kessee with his quick growth in basketball was a cousin who definitely knew a thing or two about the sport. Kessee's cousin: five-time NBA All-Star and 1977 college basketball National Player of the Year Marques Johnson.
Johnson lived four hours away from Kessee and his family, so they made regular trips to Johnson's home for advice. Johnson starred at UCLA and actually played against Memphis in the 1974-75 season. In the Bruins' 113-94 win over the Tigers that season, Johnson had eight points, six rebounds and four assists.
"When I caught the basketball bug, Marques is the first person my dad reached out to," Kessee said. "Marques gave us advice on what to do, what to work on. He told me he may come to a couple of games this season."
Johnson's advice and Kessee's quick work turned the 6-foot-1, 182-pound guard into a steady performer on the court. By his senior season at Valley High School in Las Vegas, Kessee averaged 19.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals. He helped lead his Vikings squad to a 21-6 overall record and a 12-3 Sunrise Conference mark.
Kessee's play grabbed the eyes of college recruiters, and he ended up at Coppin State. In four short years, the former Pop Warner quarterback turned into an NCAA Division I level guard. And, as he did in high school, Kessee had to work hard to develop his game in his three years at the Baltimore, Md., college.
As a freshman, Kessee saw limited time in 18 games and averaged 1.7 points and hit only two treys. He made a tremendous jump as a sophomore, starting 26 of 31 games and averaging 9.6 points. He made 51 three-pointers and shot 39.8 percent from the arc, which was fifth-best in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
By his junior season, Kessee was one of the MEAC's top three-point weapons. He hit 88 treys and shot 39.5 percent from the arc. His 88 three-pointers led the Eagles in 2015-16 and also are among the top-10 for most treys made in a season in program history. Kessee led Coppin State and was 12th in the MEAC in scoring (14.6 ppg).
Kessee finished his three seasons at Coppin State with 781 points and 141 three-pointers made. He shot 38.5 percent from the arc. His 141 treys and 38.5 percentage both are in the top-10 in Eagles' history.
"It was a great experience to go to Coppin (State)," Kessee said. "I learned so much there. Coppin brought a lot to me, and I'm blessed I was able to attend. Going to Coppin has opened a lot of doors for me."
One door it opened was an opportunity to use his final season of college basketball as a graduate transfer. Kessee graduated from Coppin State with a degree in business management last spring, and afterwards, began looking for another school to pursue a master's degree and also play basketball. He looked around at several schools, and Memphis caught his interest.
"Coach Pooh (Williamson) called me after the staff got settled in here," said Kessee. "They watched me on film and thought I could add something to the program."
Assistant coach Pooh Williamson added, "Looking at the squad we had returning, we saw we needed some perimeter shooting, and Christian fit what we were looking for. We reached out to those who could give us insights on Christian as a player and a person, and that kind of turned us on to him."
After a visit to the Bluff City, Kessee made it official. Next stop: Memphis.
"The love from the fans brought me here," said Kessee, who is a liberal studies major and is taking business and sociology classes at the University. "Back in 2008, I watched some of the Memphis games on television, and it was amazing all the fans that were here and how crazy they were. It was better than NBA games.
"Now, that I'm here, I can see that. I'm a new face, but once fans find out I'm a Tigers player, they love to be around and talk to you. I had a fan tell me he was up one night at 1 a.m., learning Coach Smith's defenses. I haven't heard of that dedication before."
Fans, though, have seen that dedication – from Kessee himself.
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