Caleb Wilson watches from sideline as No. 17 North Carolina loses at No. 1 Duke

DURHAM, N.C. — Caleb Wilson was right where he wanted to be in a sense, standing alongside his North Carolina teammates on the court before a rivalry loss at No. 1 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

But the star freshman and high-end NBA prospect can only watch now.

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The 76-61 loss Saturday night to close the regular season came one day after the school announced the 6-foot-10 forward is done for the season with a broken right thumb. It came as Wilson appeared on the verge of returning from a fractured left hand just in time for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament and March Madness.

Instead, a freak injury — complete with Wilson posting a post-surgery photo on social media — has ended what is expected to be a lone college season with his high-lottery draft projection. It’s also delivered a potentially devastating blow to the Tar Heels’ postseason aspirations.

“Obviously, there’s tremendous sadness for him,” coach Hubert Davis said. “It was a dream for him to play in the ACC and NCAA Tournament. And my heart is broken that he won’t be able to do that. But we finished the regular season, now it’s time to regroup and move toward the ACC Tournament.”

The Tar Heels have spent much of this season adapting to injuries. They lost senior Seth Trimble to a broken left arm for nine games early in the season. Wilson hadn’t played since he was hurt in a Feb. 10 loss at Miami, coming in the first game following the rivalry win against Duke on Trimble’s last-second 3-pointer. And big man Henri Veesaar recently missed two games with a foot issue.

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“Unfortunately we’re kind of used to it as a team,” Trimble said.

The Tar Heels had gone 5-1 without Wilson as he inched closer to a potential return. But this time, there’s finality, no held-in-reserve hope of getting back the hyper-competitive and explosive athlete averaging 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists.

“He’s been devastated ever since because he really wanted to wear…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/caleb-wilson-watches-sideline-no-155015934.html

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Publish date : 2026-03-08 15:50:00

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