If there’s one thing that UNC fans learned about Caleb Wilson immediately, it is that he takes slights very personally. Ever since his UNC career abruptly ended, media outlets twisted themselves into pretzels finding ways to claim that he did not have what it takes to be drafted higher than Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa, and Darryn Peterson. Well, last night he did what he does best: he took things personally yet again, and put on an incredible show against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Wilson finished his NBA Summer League debut with a record-breaking 35 points, five rebounds, two steals, and three blocks. It would be impressive enough to point out that he did all of this without throwing down a single dunk, but it gets crazier than that — Wilson went 7 of 11 from the three-point line. After being told that he can’t shoot all spring, the former Tar Heel went bonkers from deep, and even finished the game by hitting a Steph Curry-like buzzer beater to cut the Bulls deficit to one point to end the game.
Wilson proved that he is far from a one-dimensional player by knocking down shots on all three levels of the floor, but he made it his mission to torture the Grizzles from the three-point line specifically. He showed off a little bit of his passing as well, but he didn’t show off what UNC fans know he’s capable of. On the defensive side of the ball, he had a couple of nasty blocks, and was able to pick a couple of pockets for good measure.
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When it comes to things that didn’t go as well, Wilson coughed up the ball six times. One turnover was particularly bad, but he made up for it by nearly giving himself a concussion blocking a shot at the rim. He also forced the issue a few times on offense, but to be fair, some of his teammates did too. Jaylin Sellers dominated the ball near the end of the game when Wilson was trying to break the Summer League debut record, and the results were pretty embarrassing. But it’s clear that two things about Wilson are true: he’s a bit raw in some areas, but he’s also a really, really good basketball player.
This game was hyped up as a #3 vs. #4 matchup between Wilson and Cameron Boozer, and ultimately the Tar Heel came out on top. Boozer finished his night with 23 points, six rebounds, four assists, four turnovers, a steal, a block, and seven fouls. Yes, you read that correctly — apparently you get 10 fouls during Summer League play, so for all intents and purposes Boozer unofficially fouled out. It is worth pointing out yet again that Wilson takes things very personally, and the result was him showing up his Blue Devil counterpart yet again.
Overall, Wilson’s Summer League debut couldn’t have gone any better, and one can only imagine what else he has in store for Bulls (and UNC) fans for the remainder of the schedule. The next game is Monday night at 9 PM ET against the Utah Jazz.
To wrap things up, I wanted to share my favorite reaction to Wilson’s performance:
Caleb Wilson, welcome to the NBA.
