By Adam Lucas
Let’s just see how far we can make it.
Caleb Wilson had an outstanding performance in Carolina’s 79-66 win over Florida State. How outstanding? His 22 points, 16 rebounds and six assists make him just the sixth Tar Heel ever to have a 20/10/5 game. The others read like you’re drafting a list of all-time Tar Heels: Billy Cunningham, Mitch Kupchak, James Worthy, Joseph Forte and Luke Maye.
He’s now the only Tar Heel freshman to have scored at least 20 points in six straight games, breaking a tie with Phil Ford—yep, it’s another all-time Tar Heel draft—at five straight.
Some of those points were spectacular, and sooner or later we’ll have to talk about them. Right now, though, let’s see how long we can go talking about anything other than his baskets.
We can start at the very beginning of the game, which was ugly. The Heels had played over seven minutes and had just two field goals (one of them was an and-one from Wilson, but we aren’t talking about that right now).
With UNC holding an 8-7 lead, Florida State missed a two-point field goal, which was notable since it hoisted 40 three-point shots and only 26 two-point shots. Wilson jumped over everyone to get the rebound. Then he pivoted and raced up the court with his dribble, allowing three different Seminoles to hover around him.
That opened the court for everyone else, and Wilson promptly spotted Jonathan Powell completely alone in the right corner. He rocketed a one-hand bullet to Powell, who swished a three-pointer for his first assist of the night.
Before he had ever played a game as a Tar Heel, the freshman said that passing is the most underrated part of his game. Not for long if he keeps throwing lasers like that.
“I watch a lot of film,” Wilson said after the game on the Tar Heel Sports Network. “I see where the double-teams are coming from and what defenses are doing to stop me. When they load up, I know the corner will be open. I try to play to my strengths and I know what will happen when I catch it.”
That’s exactly right—on many occasions he does seem to know what’s going to happen before anyone else. He showed it again in the second half, when he blocked a Lajae Jones shot, pinning it against the backboard. It was a great block. But he didn’t stop to wag his finger. Didn’t stare down Jones. He just collected the ball, and before almost anyone else on the court could react, had already fed Seth Trimble ahead of the defense for a layup.
Some of the plays he makes are due to hard work (after hitting just 53 percent of his free throws in the last four games, he’s taken extra shots before and after every practice and hit four of five in Tuesday’s game). That one, though, was just instinctive.
He’s more than just a talented scorer. He knows how to play the game and picks up subtleties that even more veteran players miss. He’s played five career games with Trimble but the two already work together very well.
Midway through the first half, Wilson contested yet another FSU three-pointer near the top of the key. Trimble snagged the rebound, and there was a brief moment when it looked like he might be able to toss ahead to the freshman for a highlight reel play. But a couple of Seminole defenders were in the area, so Trimble pushed it on the dribble.
There are other players who might have pouted for at least a second when they didn’t get that pass. What did Wilson do? He placed himself perfectly into traffic so he could pick off Trimble’s defender with a screen, freeing the senior for a drive to the basket and a three-point play.
“I knew the only guy who could stop Seth was the one guarding him,” Wilson said. “So I stood there and knew Seth would attack off my hip. I knew that would get us an and-one or at least two free throws.”
Remember: Wilson isn’t scoring on any of these plays. He’s just helping Carolina win basketball games.
He’s earned the right to stand around and watch, but he doesn’t. With 13:42 left, Trimble missed a three-pointer. Nine other players stood and watched the ball bounce off the rim and hit the floor. Wilson raced from the right wing all the way down to the left corner to grab the offensive rebound, then before anyone else had even realized he had the ball, fired a quick pass to Henri Veesaar for an easy bucket. He has more raw talent than anyone else on the court. There are also times when he tries harder than anyone else on the court, and that makes him a very dangerous player.
“I’ve learned in college how important offensive rebounding can be,” he said. “Throughout the year, I will get better.”
That must be nice. Offensive rebounding is important, so he’ll just do more of it. Easy enough…for a very select few people.
So that is 850 words about everything other than the baskets. Let’s talk about two of them. The first was a first half, turnaround jumper off an in-bounds pass. Carolina had just 4.5 seconds left on the shot clock when it inbounded it. The Florida State coaching staff was frantically trying to set the defense.
The Tar Heels, therefore, simply ran a play for which there is no defense. Powell lofted the ball to Wilson, who was guarded by Robert McCray. The freshman had his back to the basket, made one pivot, elevated well over McCray and dropped in a soft jumper.
“I work on that a lot, and I feel like with my height and my athletic ability, it’s going to be there,” Wilson said of his turnaround jumper. “I’m looking for a reach or a lot of physicality. When I separate with my feet, I will be wide open.”
He can play the game…but he also understands the game. It’s fun to listen to him talk about basketball. And we’ve talked about passes and screens and rebounds. All of that is nice.
But the Caleb Wilson experience (which also included a gorgeous play in the second half when he received a pass at the ACC logo, pump faked, stepped through, hung in the air in a way that brought to mind another certain Tar Heel, and scored off the glass…but we aren’t talking about every Caleb Wilson basket, so just forget this right now) simply isn’t complete without at least one dunk. Tuesday night had several, but there was one specific second half slam that stood out, as he took a pass on the move from Derek Dixon and threw down a one-handed dunk over the unfortunate 6-foot-10 Chauncey Wiggins.
“I still haven’t seen it yet,” Wilson said after the game. So we showed it to him.
“Mmmm,” he said as he watched the tomahawk. “I didn’t realize I took it back that far.”
Then he couldn’t help but flash that same wide smile he’d shown on the court after the play, the one that’s an important part of what makes him so fun to watch.
“His court personality,” Hubert Davis said on the THSN, “just oozes out. It’s so much fun to watch as a coach. I can only imagine how fun it is to watch it as a fan.”
