By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer
Caleb Wilson has powered No. 11 North Carolina all year. The Tar Heels will now have to figure out how to play without their freshman star.
The team said Thursday that the high-end NBA prospect had suffered a fracture in his left hand, an announcement coming two days after the 11th-ranked Tar Heels’ loss at Miami. It’s unclear exactly how long he’ll be out, but it’s potentially a huge blow for UNC coming roughly a month from Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament.
“I am grateful for whatever God is trying to tell me through this injury!!!” Wilson wrote in a social media post on Thursday attached to the injury announcement. “I will be back Tarheel Nation… I LOVE THIS TEAM AND PROGRAM #StayTuned”
The lean 6-foot-10 forward leading the team in scoring (19.8) and rebounding (9.4) was injured in the first half at Miami. Team spokesman Steve Kirschner said the injury happened as Wilson closed out on Noam Dovrat’s 3-pointer from the top, with Dovrat hitting the shot while being fouled at the 5:34 mark and both players falling to the court.
Wilson kept playing before checking out in the second half, then headed to the tunnel for evaluation by trainer Doug Halverson. He later returned with 8:47 remaining, his left wrist and palm area heavily taped as he finished with a season-low 12 points.
In its release, the team said X-rays taken during the game were negative for a fracture, while a team spokesman said the injury was believed to be a sprained wrist.
“There is no situation,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said when asked about Wilson’s injury during his postgame news conference at Miami.
But additional imaging after the team returned to campus in Chapel Hill revealed a fracture. The evaluation process is ongoing to determine a timetable for his return.
Wilson, who is from Atlanta, ranks sixth among freshmen nationally in scoring and leads the nation in dunks (66). He had set a UNC freshman record by scoring in double figures in his first 24 games and posted 17 20-point games. And along the way, he had made his mark with exuberant competitiveness, relentless motor and high-flying slams.
That included as recently as Saturday night against rival Duke, when he put on a one-man show with 17 first-half points (he finished with 23) that helped keep UNC in it early before the Tar Heels won 71-68 on Seth Trimble’s last-second 3-pointer. There had also been standout performances like one in a win against Kansas in November, with Wilson going for 24 points and saying afterward: “I want to let the world know who I am for sure.”
The Tar Heels (19-5, 7-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) play their first game without Wilson on Saturday against Pittsburgh followed by a trip to rival N.C. State on Tuesday. The Tar Heels also have games ahead against No. 24 Louisville (Feb. 23) and No. 20 Clemson (March 3) before their rematch against No. 4 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium to close the regular season.