Caleb Wilson is leading the Tar Heels in more ways than one.
The fabulous freshman forward is outstripping his preseason predictions, which were pretty high. He was in the top ten freshmen before and during the early season games. Now he is solidly No. 3 behind BYU’s A.J. Dybantsa, whom Caleb has already played in an exhibition game, and Duke’s Cameron Boozer, who Wilson will face at least twice this season.
After five games (all victories), he leads the team in total points, overall shooting percentage among starters (due to his many dunks), rebounds and steals. He is second in 3-pointers and blocks (behind Henri Veesaar) and third in assists as an unselfish passer.
And he is best in category for creativity.
Wilson was active on social media from his recruiting visit to Chapel Hill and early in the season a fashionista for students and fans. Before the Kansas game, he asked for a “white out” and then led both teams with 24 points in the 87-74 victory. Before the Radford game four days later, he campaigned for light blue.
Fans may have noticed on the big screens that he leads the team out of the home tunnel, which he told his mates he wanted to do. Done and the others follow him out.
Caleb flashes onto the floor with a basketball as the pep band plays the fight song and dribbles along the sideline and scorer’s table, makes a hard right at mid-court and goes almost all the way across. Then he makes another hard cut left and drives to the basket for a dynamic dunk, a preview for what is coming.
Sounds like a one-year ritual for the projected lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Against Navy Tuesday night, Wilson committed two fouls in the first half and played only 10 minutes, scoring 6 points as Carolina let a double-digit advantage slip away and led 38-31 at the break.
In the second half, Wilson got a steal and a dunk to boost the lead back to 12 points. The Heels held the 30 percent shooting Middies scoreless for more than seven minutes and led by 24 before Navy suddenly got hot with a 15-0 run to cut the deficit to nine points at the two-minute mark.
Wilson capped off his third straight double-double and fourth in five games with 17 second-half points to assure the 73-61 win, after which the Heels held their first players-only meeting of the season.
“I was just frustrated,” Caleb said. “I’m not going to go out there and just be a guy on the court. Every time someone comes to see North Carolina play, they should say, ‘Caleb is outstanding.’ So I just had to impose my role again.”
The 18th-ranked Tar Heels are bigger this season with 6-10 Wilson, 6-10 Jarin Stevenson and 7-foot Veesaar. Bigger is better, for sure.
Featured image via Todd Melet
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.
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