I don’t think I’m exactly breaking any news here, but that was one of the worst endings to a UNC basketball season I can remember in my decades of fandom. The feeling that things were slipping away for this version of the Heels slowly snowballed into a crescendo of bad mistakes, missed free throws, and blown leads that culminated in an historic NCAA tournament loss and head coach Hubert Davis being relieved of his position.
It’s been 10 days since the loss. Yesterday as I was driving home from a hike
on a gorgeous spring day (after all, I don’t have to plan my Saturday schedule around when the Heels tip off anymore) Spotify decided to toss me Oasis’ 1996 hit “Don’t Look Back in Anger.” As I sang along (badly off key), I realized that enough time has passed that I can objectively look back on the season. Obviously, it isn’t a season that will be looked back on fondly, but it had its good moments, just as most UNC basketball seasons have some highlights worth celebrating. So, in the spirit of Oasis — and an attempt to not only look back on the ‘25-’26 UNC basketball season in anger and what could have been — here are a few of my favorite moments from the past year.
Seth Trimble’s shot to beat Duke: I assume this will be #1 on just about every UNC fan’s list of favorite memories from this season, but it still bears bringing up. Trimble’s senior season was marked by injury and inconsistency, but he will always have a piece of Carolina immortality as that shot gets played in every montage before the next UNC-Duke game. Legendary rivalry shots are hard to come by; I’m happy we got one out of this season.
UNC’s wins against fellow blue bloods: The Heels notched wins against Kansas, Kentucky and Duke this season. It’s the first time Carolina has defeated all three of those programs in the same season since the ‘81-’82 campaign. A cynical fan might make the (accurate, in fairness) observation that this was a down year by Kentucky and Kansas’s lofty standards; I’d like to counter that by noting it was also a down year by UNC’s high expectations, yet this team still pulled off the trifecta.
Everything about Caleb Wilson: While I knew Caleb Wilson would be good, I’ll freely admit I didn’t expect him to be THIS good. Wilson now has his jersey hanging in the Smith Center rafters after being voted a second-team All-American. He set all kinds of freshman records and was leading the team in points, rebounds, steals and blocks before his injury. While it’s easy to look back and debate the what-ifs, I’m going to celebrate Wilson for being of the most gifted freshman to ever set foot in the UNC campus and an absolute joy to watch play.
So, my question for today: what were your favorite moments to look back on from this season? Assuming you’re able to look back without anger, of course.
