North Carolina Coach Hubert Davis Shares Latest on Caleb Wilson’s Recovery From Hand Fracture

North Carolina won its third consecutive game on Saturday night, knocking off Virginia Tech 89–82 on the strength of a strong 26-point game by Henri Veesaar. It was the Tar Heels’ fifth game without star freshman forward Caleb Wilson, who continues to work back from a fractured hand suffered during a loss to Miami back on Feb. 10.

Wilson, a potential top-five pick in the upcoming NBA draft, said his return was “on the way” back on Feb. 17, echoing a positive update from coach Hubert Davis. So far, it hasn’t materialized, with just two regular season games remaining before UNC enters ACC tournament play.

Following Saturday’s win, however, Davis gave an encouraging update on his star forward, saying that he no longer has a cast on the injured hand.

After their 89-82 win over Virginia Tech, Hubert Davis said that Caleb Wilson, who has been nursing a fractured hand, has been given clearance to remove his cast and is participating in individual workouts. pic.twitter.com/Kf88q62xMZ
— Carolina Blitz (@KeepBlitzin) March 1, 2026

“Yeah there is an update, he doesn’t have his cast on anymore,” Davis said. “He’s allowed to—can’t do anything five-on-five but he can do individual workouts, dribble, shoot, he can do everything. Just nothing on contact. So that’s a huge benefit for us, he’s out of the cast and being able to work out.”

When asked if there is an update for Wilson’s timeline to return, however, Davis declined to share one.

“No, but moving in the right direction. And so, he worked out today before the game and just was dribbling, shooting, catching like normal.”

Caleb Wilson’s stats, impact in 2025–26

When healthy, Wilson has been one of college basketball’s most dynamic forwards. On the season, he’s averaging 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.4 steals per game, scoring double digits in each of his 24 games played and securing 11 double-doubles.

To their credit, the Tar Heels have held it together in his absence, winning four of five games since his injury during a loss to Miami. The loss during that stretch, an 82–58 drubbing at the hands of NC State, showed the relatively low floor that North Carolina has without him, though. No Tar Heels player scored more than 13 points in the game and UNC shot just 32% from the floor, vs. 48% for the Wolfpack.

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In the games since, the Tar Heels have seen some of their other important players step up. Veesaar led the way with 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting in a win against Syracuse, and Seth Trimble went off in a tight 77–74 win over No. 24 Louisville, dropping 30 points on just 16 shots from the field.

Where does North Carolina stand ahead of the NCAA tournament?

The pressure remains on for Hubert Davis after last season’s disappointing 23–14 campaign which ended in the first round of March Madness, when No. 11-seed UNC made it out of the First Four but fell to No. 6 Ole Miss.

This season, the Tar Heels could find themselves on the other side of that seed line. In his most recent bracket watch, Sports Illustrated’s Kevin Sweeney had North Carolina as a No. 6-seed in the Midwest Region, in line to face a fellow traditional power looking to sneak into the Big Dance out of the Big Ten.

There’s still plenty of room for North Carolina to move up, with regular season games against Clemson and archrival Duke remaining in the regular season. Wilson led the Tar Heels with 23 points in their upset of the Blue Devils in early February. Time will tell whether he’s ready to go for the second edition of that grudge match.

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