By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — A moment during practice brought everything to a halt.
Caleb Wilson executed a dunk so explosive that the entire team froze in amazement. Players were left in awe, coaches were speechless, and Coach Hubert Davis, who has witnessed decades of basketball brilliance, decided to bluff playfully.
“I got on the team,” he said of that day in practice after No. 16 UNC’s 81–61 victory Sunday, in which Wilson didn’t add to his season total of 28 dunks on his way to his sixth double-double (20 points, 14 rebounds). “I said, ‘Act like you’ve been there before.’ I was like, ‘Guys, everybody does this. We’ve seen that play before.”
The players weren’t buying it. Neither was Davis.
“Then everyone looked at me, and then I said, ‘Guys, it’s the first time that I’ve lied to you,” Davis recalled with a smile (he tells that story at the end of the below video). “ ‘I’ve never seen that.’ He dunked, and everyone just stopped. And I was like, man, I’ve never seen that one before.”
Wilson’s dunk wasn’t just a highlight; it was a glimpse of what makes him special. Davis said moments like that remind him how rare Wilson’s talent is.
“Some of the shots that he hit [Sunday], that one individual workout, that’s just because he’s a dude and he can play,” Davis said. “And, so, never seen that before, either. So, I like to continue to see things I’ve never seen before in a good way.”
For Davis, the dunk was more than a viral clip waiting to happen. It was a sign of the kind of athleticism that can tilt games, ignite crowds and fuel the Tar Heels’ momentum.
And even for a coach who preaches composure, sometimes the only honest reaction is awe.
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
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