The University of North Carolina men’s basketball team suffered a big loss Friday when it was announced that freshman phenom Caleb Wilson will miss the remainder of the season with a broken right thumb. According to the university’s release, Wilson suffered the injury while dunking during a non-contact practice drill.
The 6’10” freshman, expected to be a lottery pick in this year’s NBA draft, immediately had surgery to repair his thumb.
Wilson, who has been sidelined since the Tar Heels’ loss to Miami on February 10th, has been working his way back to return to the team in hopes of making a post-season NCAA Tournament run.
So how will this blow affect UNC’s Final Four hopes?
Although this isn’t good news for North Carolina, the loss isn’t sudden. The Tar Heels have gone 5-1 without Wilson in the lineup, including wins against then-ranked Louisville and Clemson.
In his short time in Chapel Hill Caleb has quickly become a fan favorite. His talent was undeniable, but it was his personality and pride in putting on Carolina blue that really made him endearing to fans. That energy has remained the same while he watched from the bench, but on the court that energy – and points – now have to come from someone else as the Heels approach their toughest test.
If Caleb Wilson has been the soul of the Tar Heels, Seth Trimble has been the heart beat. This team will go as he goes. In the Tar Heels’ win over Louisville, Trimble scored 30 points on 11-16 shooting from the floor. In their most recent losses to NC State and Miami he had 4 points. Seth will need to be the aggressive player he was against the Cardinals in every game going forward for the Heels to have a deep March run.
With Wilson sidelined, Henri Veesaar is now the North Carolina’s leading scorer – averaging 16.5 points per contest. And while the offense will most certainly run through Veesaar, Luka Bogavac’s contribution off the bench may be the biggest catalyst to the Tar Heels’ success.
Coming into this season – outside of Wilson – Tar Heel fans had high hopes for the Montenegro native, but Bogavac has had an up and down year. He can go scoreless like he did against Florida State and Wake Forest, or he can drop 20 on 6-10 shooting from three like he did in the Tar Heels’ latest contest against Clemson. If Luka can find consistency in his outside shooting, North Carolina can be a dangerous team in March.
There’s no question that losing a player of Wilson’s caliber hurts the Tar Heels’ Final Four hopes, but it doesn’t end them.
