Caleb Wilson couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
On the flight back from a disastrous two-game west coast trip to Stanford and Cal – both losses – Wilson was crushing tape from the game against the Bears. Because what else is there to do on a five-plus-hour flight than to review high-profile mistakes?
The five-star freshman forward and future lottery pick in the NBA Draft didn’t need an in-flight meal. He was being served a heaping portion of humble pie.
“It’s so much stuff that I was doing and my teammates were doing that was prohibiting us from winning,” Wilson said Wednesday night. “Our defensive rotations, not going to the offensive glass, not sacrificing yourself for your teammates by screening and stuff like that. Once we were able to focus on that and really get that in our heads, it changed our mentality and our mindset for these next coming games.”
UNC’s turning over of a new leaf started in practices earlier this week, sessions which head coach Hubert Davis and his players unanimously lauded as some of the team’s most intense of the season.
“Everybody hated losing those two games,” said Henri Veesaar. “It created a sense of urgency.”
That sense of urgency revealed itself one more time before the Tar Heels took the court Wednesday night at the Smith Center against Notre Dame. In fact, it waited until the very last moment. After Davis had finished addressing his team and the Tar Heels started migrating toward the tunnel, they stopped. One more voice wanted to speak up: Caleb Wilson.
“He went after the team,” Davis recalled. “He said, ‘Look, let’s go out there and compete.’ He’s never done that before.”
Keen observers had previously noted Wilson chewing his teammates out in the huddle in Berkeley, a development which likely had something to do with UNC’s inspired – if futile – comeback attempt. Davis, who turned heads a year ago when describing the 2024-25 Tar Heels as one of the quietest groups he’d been around, is more than happy to temporarily hand the reins to his freshman sensation.
“I think it’s really ignited our team,” Davis said. “He has a personality that just encourages guys. He’s a great teammate. He lights up the room every time he steps in it. Now that he’s using his voice, it’s really motivating guys in a good way.”
“I know my time here is limited,” said Wilson. “And I want to make the most out of it. Every game matters to me. I’m still figuring out how to win. It’s not just scoring, it’s not just rebounding, it’s a collection of things. Honestly, I was yelling at my teammates about, ‘We’re North Carolina, bro. We shouldn’t be losing to Cal.’ That’s just how I feel. I feel like that’s how everybody feels.”
Wilson scored 22 points in Wednesday’s 91-69 win against the Fighting Irish. The 22-point margin of victory was UNC’s largest against a power conference foe this season. On Wednesday night, and in the days leading up to it, Caleb Wilson was quite literally the difference.
Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward
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‘It’s Really Ignited Our Team’: Hubert Davis Lauds Caleb Wilson’s Leadership After Cal Loss Chapelboro.com.
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