Caleb Wilson needs help
Freshman phenom Caleb Wilson continued an amazing run as UNC's leading scorer this season with 17 points, a team high. His mix of power and athleticism had taken college basketball by storm, but now that he has enough tape on him to chart tendencies, we're starting to see some creative defensive schemes to try and stop him.
Cal coach Mark Madsen sent vicious double teams at Wilson when he posted up above the block, limiting his ability to spin and drive. In some cases, they'd push out to the corner three spot, trying to trap him and force a turnover. But one thing that Wilson showed he was really good at was firing skip passes out to open shooters while under duress. What his teammates didn't do was knock down those shots when they were open, thanks to the double team.
He's also proving to be a fast learner. At the 17:56 mark in the second half, after previously being stopped from advancing to the basket by Cal's double-teams, Wilson feels the trap coming, spins away from the help defense, and throws down some hate:
Caleb Wilson shouldn’t be moving this good out the post at 6’11, so much upside with him working the baseline, he’s patient and his athleticism makes you want to get out the way. pic.twitter.com/WnVzT2PJwD
— BKS Sports (@BKSecretsports) January 17, 2026
Hubert Davis only gets 13 more games of Caleb Wilson, plus however many ACC Tournament and (hopefully) NCAA Tournament games UNC plays. The bigger issues need to get sorted out so Wilson isn't doing all of this good work for nothing.