By R.L. Bynum
Caleb Wilson heads the three-player Class of 2025 class at Carolina, and his talents will be on display on a big stage Tuesday at the McDonald’s All-American Game in Brooklyn.
Wilson, a 6–9, 195-pound five-star Atlanta power forward, will be on the West team with Duke signee Nikolas Khamenia, a 6–8 forward from California, in the 9 p.m. game (ESPN). Duke signees Cameron (6–9 forward) and Cayden Boozer (6–4 guard), both from Florida and Wilson’s teammates on the Nightrydas Elite AAU team last season, are on the East team.
Five-star girls UNC recruit Nyla Brooks will play the girls game, which starts at 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2).
“For me, being a McDonald’s All-American is a huge thing,” Wilson said during a brief Monday press conference at Barclays Center. “I feel like it’s the beginning of the next step. I’ve been dreaming about it since I was a little kid, and I feel like it’s a great accomplishment. But I’m always ready for the next thing.”
Wilson is dominant up front and has the ballhandling skills and playmaking ability of a guard.
Carolina’s incoming freshman class also includes two four-star combo guards: Isaiah Denis of Davidson, N.C. (ranked 78th in ESPN’s Class of 2025 rankings) and Derek Dixon of Washington, D.C. (ranked 52nd).
Wilson, the No. 6 overall player in the Class of 2025, says that he plays hard with a big motor, which makes him highly sought after by NBA teams.
“I feel like on the next level, college and also the NBA, it is very important to be able to do a lot of things on the court,” Wilson said. “You come to the NBA as a rookie, you often are not the leading scorer. They often always have a franchise player. So [you’ve] got to find a way to impact the game the other way. So I feel like that’s what is attractive to teams and coaches at the next level.”
In early March, Wilson led Holy Innocents to the Georgia High School Association Private Class state title with an 84–45 victory in the championship game over North Cobb Christian with 33 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. He averaged 21.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 3.6 blocks and 2.1 steals last season.
That came after playing with top-level talent last summer playing for Nightrydas Elite and helping lead that team to the Peach Jam championship with 17.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
“Making the move to Nightrydas, I did that because I felt like it was important for me to learn how to play with other talented players,” Wilson said.
McDonald’s All-American Game rosters
Roster assuming all players with eligibility other than Caleb Wilson, Henri Veesaar and the seven players who entered the transfer portal return, which would put UNC two under the 15-player limit. The class for next season is listed.
| No./ Stars | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 star | Freshman | Maximo Adams | SF | 6–7 | 205 |
| 3 star | Freshman | Malloy Smith | CG | 6–5 | 190 |
| 5 star | Freshman | Sayon Keita | C | 7–0 | 215 |
| 4 star | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–7 | 190 |
| RS freshman | Cade Bennerman — W | C | 7–0 | 205 | |
| Sophomore | Neoklis Avdalas — X | G | 6–9 | 215 | |
| Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 180 | |
| Sophomore | Matt Able — Y | G | 6–6 | 205 | |
| Senior | Terrence Brown — Z | G | 6–3 | 174 | |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson | 4 | 6–10 | 215 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Junior | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | 2 | 6–1 | 195 |
W — Northwestern transfer. X — Virginia Tech transfer; Y — N.C. State transfer; Z — Utah transfer
Michael Malone’s coaching staff: Chuck Martin, Bryan Tibaldi, Sean May and Pat Sullivan; Deon Thompson will be a graduate assistant, and Brandon Robinson will reportedly have a support staff position.
Players who left for the transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | Oklahoma State |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | Howard |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | Arizona |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | Minnesota |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | South Florida |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
| Ivan Matlekovic | Junior | C | 7–0 | 255 |
Key offseason dates
Thursday through May 28 — Kevin Thomas at USA Basketball U18 national team tryouts in Colorado Springs
May 27 (11:59 p.m.) — NCAA early-entry withdrawal deadline
June 13 — Deadline for international players to withdraw from NBA draft and maintain college eligibility
June 23–24 — NBA draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn
Nonconference schedule so far
(Other than the ACC/SEC Challenge, games without links revealed from reporting by Alex Rosinski or Rocco Miller)
(11 of 14 games)
Nov. 2 — vs. Western Carolina
Nov. 6 — vs. Wofford
Nov. 10 — vs. Wyoming
Nov. 13 — vs. Georgia
Nov. 20 — vs. Marshall
Nov. 27 — vs. West Virginia at the Dick Vitale Invitational at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center
Dec. 1 or 2 — vs. SEC team in ACC/SEC Challenge (announced last year on June 12)
Dec. 12 — at Georgetown
Dec. 19 — vs. Kentucky in CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden
Dec. 21 — vs. The Citadel
November or December — vs. Butler
Photo via screenshot
