College Basketball: Previewing Tomorrow's North Carolina, SMU Matchup

Tomorrow marks the first weekend of conference play in college basketball and, with that, an incredible slate of games. Virginia plays NC State, Kentucky heads to Alabama, Auburn faces the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, Tennessee plays Arkansas, and UNC faces SMU in Dallas. Let's take a look at who to watch in North Carolina's matchup against the SMU Mustangs.

North Carolina Tar Heels

Caleb Wilson

Entering this season, there was a clear three-prospect conversation when projecting the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. This conversation was between Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, and Cameron Boozer (in differing orders depending on who you talk to). Since the season tipped off, Caleb Wilson has been knocking on the door to this conversation due to his continued stellar play. Perhaps most impressive is the numerous positive stories and intel regarding Wilson as well as the consistent praise UNC's Coach Hubert Davis provides about Wilson as both a player and person.

Wilson is averaging 19.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 68.4% at the rim and 42.4% on non-rim twos (59 attempts). His outside shooting and free throw percentage could both improve, with his current percentages being at 26.7% (15 attempts) and 69.8% (116 attempts), respectively.

Additionally, the 6-foot-10, 215-pound freshman is recording a 12.8 offensive rebound percentage, 25 defensive rebound percentage, 17.9 assist percentage, 2.6 steal percentage, and a 5.1 block percentage and has been unassisted on 51% of his made field goals so far this season. Wilson is also currently on pace to meet the Productive Young Athlete query, a threshold in which 65 of the 84 previous players (77%) to meet the same criteria played five-plus years in the NBA or are currently in the league.

Henri Veesaar

Originally from Estonia, Henri Veesaar was a highly touted prospect prior to his college career -- spending time in Real Madrid's youth program before coming to America.

He's had an interesting college career thus far. Veesaar played limited minutes his freshman season at Arizona, and then suffered an elbow injury prior to his sophomore season -- leading him to redshirt. Veesaar then showcased improvement last season as a redshirt sophomore with Arizona before transferring to North Carolina this past offseason.

For the Tar Heels this season, the 7-foot big man is averaging 16.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, two assists, 0.5 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 75.9% at the rim (72 attempts), 52% on non-rim twos (25 attempts), and 50% from three (34 attempts).

While his three point percentage is much improved from prior seasons, his free throw percentage remains stagnant around the 64-72% range -- a more important indicator for potential as a shooter long-term. Therefore, increasing his free throw percentage will be important to prove to scouts that this isn't a one-off three point-shooting season.

Overall, Veesaar appears to be truly having a breakout season -- a great sight to see for the potential NBA prospect.

Honorable Mentions

Two other players to monitor on UNC are freshmen Derek Dixon and Isaiah Denis. Dixon is a 6-foot-5 freshman guard who was a top-50 recruit in the 2025 high school class and is shooting 41.7% from three on 36 total attempts. Denis was the No. 53 overall recruit in the 2025 high school class and is a 6-foot-4 guard.

SMU Mustangs

Jason Pierre Jr.

Dec 3, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores forward Tyler Nickel (5) lays the ball in between SMU defender — Dec 3, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores forward Tyler Nickel (5) lays the ball in between Southern Methodist University Mustangs guard Jaron Pierre Jr. (5) and center Samet Yigitoglu (24) during the second half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Jaron Pierre Jr is a 6-foot-5, 185-pound guard who's having an excellent season for SMU after averaging 21.6 points per game at Jacksonville State last season. The redshirt senior has played for four colleges, first playing for Southern Mississippi and Wichita State before joining Jacksonville State and now SMU.

He's emerging as a potential second round pick -- averaging 18.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 stocks per game while shooting 72.4% at the rim (58 attempts) (elite numbers for a guard), 38.9% on non-rim twos (54 attempts), 32.9% from beyond the arc (79 attempts), and 75% from the free throw line (52 attempts).

Jaden Toombs

The former Dynamic Prep center missed the beginning of the season, but has been solid in the six games he's appeared in since late November. Despite appearing in limited minutes overall, the 6-foot-10, 230-pound, top-30 recruit is recording 17.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, three assists, and three stocks per 40 minutes while recording a 12 offensive rebound percentage, 12 assist percentage, a 1.7 steal percentage, and a 4.8 block percentage. He could enter NBA Draft conversations if his minutes continue to increase as the season progresses.

Honorable Mention

Another player to monitor on SMU is 6-foot-10 junior Sam Walters. Similar to Toombs, Walter has only appeared in limited minutes so far this season but shot 38.2% from beyond the arc his first two seasons at Alabama and Michigan (170 total attempts).