By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — It was what Caleb Wilson didn’t say after getting only two second-half shots that stood out.
Wilson went from making all seven shots, adding more highlight reels and scoring 17 points in the first half, to scoring five points and only one field goal in the second half of the No. 17 Tar Heels’ 87–84 victory Saturday night over Wake Forest at the Smith Center.
Asked what the difference was for him when UNC blew nearly all of the 15-point lead it owned with 11:01 left, he hesitated.
“I don’t even want to speak on that,” Wilson said. “I don’t think nobody’s defending me differently.”
Wilson didn’t make any excuses for his lack of output in the final minutes. But if the defense wasn’t different, he seemed to suggest something else changed.
When Coach Hubert Davis was asked why Wilson didn’t get more second-half touches, his response was shorter than usual and forceful.
“They’re putting more guys on him,” Davis said, not seeming to want to get into other reasons why this happened for the second consecutive game. Wilson got off only one shot in the last 15:21 of the 97–83 loss at SMU one week earlier.
“I was just aggressive,” Wilson said of his big first half. “I’ve got to do it myself, so I just wanted to do it myself.”
What felt different was how North Carolina drifted from what had worked early when Wilson took advantage of his chances after halftime.
“I felt like we got content and we just didn’t stick with what was working,” Wilson said. “In the first half, we built a big lead. I was able to get more touches. We were able to dominate points in the paint. A lot of our buckets were probably assisted, I think. So that’s what I feel like was working, but we just didn’t get to that later in the game.”
Even with the frustration, Wilson tried to keep the lens on the bigger picture after the Tar Heels moved to 14–2 and 2–1 in the ACC.
“We won the game, so I’m excited about that,” he said, “but at the same time, it’s like, what’s next?”
It’s not as if his teammates, including Seth Trimble, who was again the point guard down the stretch, weren’t trying to find him. The senior leader insisted that Wilson is getting touches.
“We’re moving the ball,” Trimble said. “We look for Caleb because we like to play through Caleb because he’s an incredible player. But he draws a lot of attention. He draws double teams. He draws crowds because he’s an incredible player. So there’s going to be times where maybe he doesn’t get the shot that you guys are used to seeing, or things like that, but it’s because of how he draws and sucks the defense. That’s all it is.”
Wilson’s frustration showed on the baseline when there was a rare occasion in the last few minutes that he got the ball down low. He tried to force a baseline drive but traveled with 2:06 left in the game.
“At the start of a game, teams are feeling it out, and then he is taking advantage of them not doubling him or being able to do a quick move,” said frontcourt mate Henri Veesaar, whose game contrasted Wilson’s, with 14 of his team-high 25 points in the second half. “They’re being really physical with him, kind of fouling, and then we have to inbound it again. The main thing is that teams are focusing on him, and that when he is on the court. He might not take the shots because he has a gravity for defenders pulling in.”
Wilson still sounded like a playmaker trying make things happen when the shots weren’t coming.
“I try to get my teammates involved as much as I can,” said Wilson, who had three assists. “Even today, I feel like I could have had 10 assists if my teammates made the shots that I gave them. But it’s all about trusting your teammates. I feel like throughout the year, my teammates will get the shots.”
He got in his usual breathtaking plays, with four more dunks to push his nation-leading total to 48, pulling down 12 rebounds for his eighth game of at least 20 points and at least 10 rebounds and his 11th double-double.
But Wilson and the Tar Heels hope they can end this two-game trend of his opportunities fading in the last two minutes.
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
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