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Let’s hope UNC’s next top 10 recruit is better than the last.
The buzz is slowly growing about Caleb Wilson, who is a consensus top 10 recruit from the high school class of 2025. The wiry 6-9 flex forward with the 7-foot wingspan continues to show off his skills in UNC’s preseason practices, especially on the defensive end where he can guard players from the perimeter to under the basket.
He blocked 2.5 shots per game during the summer all-star circuit and will likely team with 7-foot Arizona transfer Henri Veesaar in the paint if their skills can complement each other. Veesaar is also a rim protector and lob receiver, but his foot speed and shooting range aren’t 5-star caliber.
According to reports, Wilson is still growing but needs to put on some bulk in the upper body to tangle with rival big men in the ACC and beyond in another difficult schedule for the Tar Heels.
His mobility is his strength right now and Wilson is capable of making offensive and defensive plays that will happen so quickly much of the audience will miss some spectacular moves. But he is a solid top 10 freshman – ranked No. 5 by ESPN to No. 9 by CBS Sports.
Where and how Hubert Davis plays Wilson remains to be seen, as Carolina has to remake its roster for the second time in three years. The Heels lost nine players off the team and are bringing in as many if 6-5 Luka Bogavac clears all the foreign protocols.
The third big man is Alabama transfer Jarin Stevenson, the 6-10 Pittsboro product and 5-star prep recruit who played two years at Alabama before returning to his home state. Stevenson has a versatile game with 3-point shooting skills when he moves away from the basket. So there is flexibility around the three bigs.
Last year’s top recruit was Ian Jackson who was a slam dunk 5-star and projected first-round NBA draft pick before his uneven freshman year began. Despite one hot streak in the middle of the season, Jackson did not live up to his hype and wound up transferring to St. John’s and will play in his hometown of New York City as a sophomore.
Jackson became an enigma who was a streak shooter from outside and at 6-4 never developed as a man-to-man defender. He lost playing time when fellow freshman Drake Powell moved onto the perimeter and showed off enough athleticism and basketball potential to enter the NBA Draft and be selected with the 22nd pick.
Wilson is also tabbed as a probable one-and-done and needs to fill out his frame without exposing too much of his game to also slip in the mock draft. He has a soft touch around the basket but enters college as an inconsistent outside shooter, which will create another chemistry challenge for Davis who must put the rotation together better than a year ago.
Featured image via UNC Basketball on Twitter
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.
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