Officially a Tar Heel: Caleb Wilson Makes Statement in Debut

Caleb Wilson, a freshman from Atlanta, Georgia, listed as one of the top recruits coming out of high school in the Class of 2025, is officially a Tar Heel. Wilson showed what he is capable of during UNC's two exhibition games against BYU (road) and Winston-Salem State (home) — showing why he is one of the best and a future 2026 NBA Draft pick. In the season opener, Wilson had his own dunk contest.

To start the game, the frosh was dunking the basketball with ease — punishing the rim in his debut inside the Dean Dome. At the end of the contest, Wilson scored 22 points, pulled down four rebounds and had three assists in the process. He is the first freshman to score at least 20 points since Cole Anthony during the 2019-2020 season (Armando Bacot's freshman year as a reference).

Wilson shot 8-10 from the field and 1-1 from the three-point line, while also converting on both free throw attempts — all through 25 minutes of play, as the Tar Heels huge lead allowed for the starters to rest. As a team, UNC scored 51 percent from the field and 34 percent from beyond the arc. It also shot 82 percent from the free throw line.

UNC — Nov 3, 2025 | Freshman Caleb Wilson against Central Arkansas | Jackson McCurdy, North Carolina Tar Heels On SI

As the season progresses, Wilson's dominance will be a key piece in North Carolina's offense, along on defense as well with his ability to switch and guard around the perimeter and inside the paint.

Wilson's Dominance Lifts Hubert Davis, Tar Heels

Wilson did a little bit of everything in front of the Tar Heel fans, as his dunks led to huge crowd pops to start the 2025-2026 campaign.

North Carolina will learn how to feed off the energy and turn into momentum, as the effect of a slam can serve well for a team that is trailing their opponent on the scoreboard.

Head coach Hubert Davis arguably has the best roster of his now five-year career as a head coach at his alma mater, and it surrounds this New Balance shoe signee. UNC will have big opponents this season with Kansas, Michigan State, Kentucky and Ohio State all on schedule. The Tar Heels are going to be one of the best teams in the country if able to continiously execute.

The arrival of Wilson has kept the North Carolina fans engaged, and seems to be the way moving forward as it will more than likely be his final season as a collegiate athlete.

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