The two West Coast losses served as a wake-up call for Caleb Wilson.
After the Tar Heels' victory over Notre Dame on Wednesday night, Wilson was asked by the media if he spent time reflecting on the trip during the plane ride home. No one expected Wilson, a projected top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, to elaborate as much as he did.
“It’s so much stuff that I was doing and my teammates were doing that was prohibiting us from winning,” Wilson said. “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.”
One of the notable moments of the trip occurred at California during a timeout. Wilson was seen visibly upset on the sideline, as he appeared to be trying to spark his teammates during a rough path. After not speaking to the media following the loss, Wilson was asked to talk about the situation, and his response showed the type of leader he's becoming.
“I know my time here (at North Carolina) 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.”
Hubert Davis is impressed
In most cases, true freshman are shy to speak up, especially in a locker room filled with upper classmen. As he gets more comfortable as his freshman season rolls along, Wilson is starting to speak up, providing a major boost to this Tar Heels team.
His recent increased leadership has Hubert Davis extremely impressed.
“When I was in school, everything was built on seniority,” Davis said. “When you became a senior, you were almost automatically gifted that leadership position, whether that was something that was in your personality or not. Everything’s different now."
Davis admits that the landscape of college athletics has changed since he suited up for the Tar Heels, but he's beyond thrilled that Wilson is stepping up as more of a vocal leader for this year's squad.
"I want guys to be leaders, and I’ve enjoyed Caleb being more vocal the last three days. I think it has really ignited our team.”
UNC goes as far as Caleb Wilson takes them
Tyler Hansbrough said it best when he stated that this year's team will go as far as Caleb Wilson takes them. For this to be the case, Wilson needs to be the leader of this group, and he's starting to embrace that role more by the day.
Wilson's electrifying dunks aren't the only thing that can ignite this group. His more vocal approach and adjusted mindset will certainly help this unit, one that aims to get hot over the final month of the college basketball season.