By R.L. Bynum
SALT LAKE CITY — Caleb Wilson couldn’t stop smiling as he stood in the hallway outside the Carolina dressing room on Friday night, even after North Carolina’s 78–76 exhibition loss to No. 8 BYU.
“It was the most fun I’ve had playing in a very long time,” Wilson said. “Playing in front of a crowd like that, all the energy and seeing how college basketball really is, or getting a taste of it, was really fun.”
For a freshman making his Tar Heels debut, Wilson looked like anything but a newcomer.
The 6–10 forward dominated both ends, putting up a double-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and a steal — outplaying BYU’s prized freshman, A.J. Dybantsa, in a matchup that drew national attention. Dybantsa was good, but only had 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
“I feel like I’m a competitor,” Wilson said. “People think that he’s better than me, so I’m gonna go out there and show I can do the same thing and do his things better. A.J. is a great player, and I feel like he’s one of the best players in college basketball and in high school, but my job is to go out there and show what I can do.”
From the start, Wilson played with confidence — scoring on a layup after an early steal and blocking a shot that led to a shot-clock violation.
“No, no jitters for me,” he said. “I feel like I’m prepared. I’ve been working for this for five months. I mean, it’s a day-by-day thing, and I keep getting better, but I’m always prepared for this.”
Asked what part of his performance pleased him most, Wilson didn’t hesitate.
“I was most focused on my rebounding,” he said. “I just wanted to be a great rebounder. And I feel like that’s something that we need as a team, because we have a lot of size, but it takes a lot to rebound at a high level, especially against a physical team like BYU.”
He also took pride in the other areas of his game that might have surprised fans.
“I didn’t get to pass the ball well,” he said after failing to record an assist, “but I feel like people don’t even know I can pass or assist as well as I can. I just showed I’m a hustle player. I’m gonna do the dirty work, I’m gonna rebound, I’m gonna make shots, and you can trust me to play in the clutch.”
The hype surrounding the Wilson–Dybantsa matchup didn’t faze him.
“I don’t look at my phone or social media before I play at all,” he said. “I know what it is. But I’m just gonna do me… I’m going to play the same way every single game, no matter if I’m playing the worst player in college basketball or the best, because everybody is going to get my best shot.”
Despite the strong showing, Wilson didn’t hide his frustration about UNC’s 19 turnovers and shaky start.
“I just feel like we have a lot to get better at. We’ve got to limit turnovers,” he said. “We just made kind of simple mistakes down the stretch. At the beginning of the game, I think we had a little bit of nerves. And, you know, once we get that together, we’ll be great.”
But Wilson made it clear that he had no nerves or jitters, and the team can do a lot of damage if the Tar Heels can limit the turnovers.
“Knowing that we did that, knowing that we didn’t win and we lost by two points? [If] we do the right things, we win by 10 to 15. But this game isn’t theoretical. It’s what happened out there. So we just got to be better.”
Wilson’s belief in this group runs deep.
“Me personally, I feel like we’re the best team in the country,” he said. “Honestly, I feel like nobody can mess with us. And I feel like when we come together and gel — which we’re starting to do very well — I feel like it’s going to be over with.”
Wilson said he isn’t worried about Luka Bogavac’s eligibility because it’s something that he can’t control, but knows the potential impact of the Montenegrin wing is huge.
“He can shoot the ball — like, he can flat-out shoot it,” Wilson said. “I can get to the basket anytime I want to, Luka can shoot the three anytime he wants to. So, like I said, when this comes together, it’s gonna be fun.”
That fun for the Tar Heels is just getting started with Wilson leading the way.
Huddle photo via @UNC_Basketball
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