What Caleb Wilson's injury means to North Carolina while he is sidelined

By now, you've heard about the Caleb Wilson injury. From his sprained wrist at Miami turning into a fracture in his left hand, to Wilson taking to social media to give UNC fans a glimpse of hope that he would return.

But for now, the Tar Heels have to do their best to move forward until Wilson returns, rather that is in the regular season, ACC Tournament or NCAA Tournament.

We haven't seen this team without him on the floor, and all Tar Heel fans certainly saw what he did in the first half versus Duke last week to keep North Carolina in the game to pull off the miracle comeback.

The question becomes...

Who is this team without Caleb Wilson?

Well, luckily for us, we have some reliable folks in the world of analytics who breakdown stats when players are on and off the floor. While it's not totally relatable for a guy like Wilson, who averages 31.3 minutes per game, it gives us a sneak peek into who the Tar Heels may be without him, and the areas they need someone to step up.

Let's start with the Tar Heels in ACC play when Wilson is on the bench.

Well, that probably doesn't give you any hope, huh? In almost two full games, North Carolina is outscoring opponents by a one basket with Wilson on the bench. And that's against a weaker ACC schedule. The road is about to get much harder.

To add to that more difficult schedule, the current team is going to have to learn life and rotations without Caleb Wilson.

There have been 24 games this season. The lineup with the most time on the floor without Wilson has played just 33 minutes. And that lineup doesn't even include senior leader Seth Trimble due to the amount of time he missed with his broken arm during November and December.

Chemistry is important in college basketball. And the more time you spend with certain lineups on the floor, the better at communicating and knowing what certain teammates are going to do next (on offense and defense) is important. North Carolina will have to attempt to re-collaborate their chemistry without their best player heading into a difficult stretch of the season.

Our good friend Evan Miyakawa has more insight into just how important Wilson is to the 2025-2026 Tar Heels.

As Evan Miya points out, that's a high number for a single player. But just in case you wanted more solidification into where the 2025-2026 UNC Basketball team ranks with and without Wilson...

The Tar Heels drop from a borderline top 25 metric team, to a borderline bubble team for the NCAA Tournament. That's a huge drop for a team that is about to enter it's most difficult stretch of their schedule.

We're not telling you anything you didn't already know. This year's Tar Heels go as No. 8 goes. And unfortunately, for the time being, they're going to have to find another source of fuel.

If they don't, the chance to be a top-16 seed in the NCAA Tournament is going to go away... quickly.

Hubert Davis always says:

"One of the things that I always tell the guys is... you always have an opportunity, the only thing I can't say to you is when, where, how, and the manner in which you'll get that opportunity. And I tell them that when you get that chance... the only thing that you're responsible for is for you to be ready."

Well, someone has an opportunity to make a huge impact on how the upcoming schedule plays out for North Carolina. Who will it be?