UNC’s demon-exorcising win against Kansas was a tale of two halves. In the first half, as the Tar Heels were disjointed on offense and gave the Jayhawks too many easy buckets, Caleb Wilson was maybe the only reason that the game was close. Not a lot was going right around him: UNC’s guards combined to shoot 1/14, Henri Veesaar had 10 efficient points but also 4 of UNC’s 10 first-half turnovers, and Darryn Peterson was getting the scoring support he needed through stretch big Bryson Tiller hitting
4 threes. Wilson, though, was just awesome from the tip. He started off the scoring for UNC with a tip dunk where he jumped over Flory Bidunga from about a step in front of the ACC logo, the kind of ridiculously athletic play that’s already becoming ho-hum for him. He proceeded to lead the Heels in points (12), rebounds (5), and energy (unlimited) for the entire half, punctuated by a floor burn + drawn foul on a rebound he’d overrun. He was UNC’s only starter with a positive +/- in the first half and made plays all over the floor, including a steal, an assist, and a bunch of drawn fouls.
Obviously, his supporting cast played a lot better in the second half, but he was no less spectacular than he was in the first. He scored 12 more points and played an even better floor game, with 3 steals, 3 assists, and no turnovers, and, in an ending that couldn’t have been scripted better, finished the game just like he started it, with a thunderous dunk that punctuated a 24-point (9/12 shooting), 7-rebound, 4-assist, 4-steal day. I don’t know that I could say that he was the catalyst for UNC’s comeback to start the second half, because that had as much to do with guard play in transition as anything else, but he was definitely still always there, making his presence known on defense and offense. It’s already clear that he’s the cornerstone of this team — even when it’s his teammates making plays, and they did that plenty of times in the second half, it still feels like he’s part of what’s happening. He’s just got that level of impact on the floor.
Actually, maybe “impact” is selling him short. Apparently, one of the revelations of the night for the national crowd and more than a few UNC fans was that in addition to being a ridiculous athlete and switchable defender, Wilson’s a high-skill, high-feel player. He showed it on a couple of his assists and passes, where he made harder-than-routine plays with great placement and timing, and on a few field goals, including a couple of Kevin Garnett-like turnaround jump shots. He’s just a really, really good basketball player.
Other than Wilson, Henri Veesaar deserves a shout. His aforementioned four turnovers were killers in the first half, but especially in the second half, he absolutely owned the paint and made Kansas’ frontcourt basically a nonfactor on both ends while playing all 20 minutes. He had plenty of dunks of his own en route to a 20-point (8/12 shooting, 2/5 from three) game, and added 4 rebounds and 4 nifty assists. Seth Trimble didn’t have his most efficient day, shooting just 7/17 from the field, but his transition play and ability to attack the rim were key to UNC’s comeback. He scored 17 points, pulled down 7 rebounds, and denied Darryn Peterson the ball enough that he couldn’t single-handedly keep his team in the game — while Peterson’s 22 points on 14 shots doesn’t sound like a great defensive job was done on him, all you had to do was watch him to see that it felt like he could have had twice that on a lesser defender.
For the second game in a row, though, this was a Caleb Wilson Game. And with any luck, it’ll be far from the last we see this season.
