LAS VEGAS — Caleb Wilson was drafted No. 4 because he could step in and help Chicago on defense right away, and he had high offensive upside down the line.
Someone forgot to tell Wilson.
For some context on how out of the blue this was: Wilson was 7-of-11 from 3 in his Summer League debut, he was 7-of-27 for the season in 24 games for North Carolina.
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But Summer League is about potential and dreams, and Wilson showed the potential that had the Bulls jumping for joy when they selected him No. 4. He’s a player who has Bulls fans dreaming of playoff relevance again.
In a Friday night game in Las Vegas that was billed as a showdown between the No. 3 pick Cameron Boozer — who showed off the variety in his game on his way to 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting — and the No. 4 pick Wilson, it was the young Bulls star who stole the show.
Wilson scored the most points ever in a Las Vegas Summer League debut with 35. He showed off his high-level athleticism, but also more craft than was expected — and a sweet jumper.
“I’ve been working on it hard for a long time, so I mean, I’m not shocked at all,” Wilson said of getting his 3s to fall.
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“He shot the ball well, of course,” Bulls coach Tiago Splitter said. “I mean, in college, he didn’t shoot like that, but tonight he was he was effective, and he kept shooting.”
While the shots were falling, maybe Wilson’s biggest highlight of the night was a chasedown block on a layup.
“I turned the ball over, trying to be trying to be sexy, and then, I mean, you gotta make up for it,” Wilson said. “I knew I can’t get I can’t turn over and give up a layup, and athleticism will make up for that almost every time. So I just had to go do what I had to be done.”
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It’s just one game of Summer League, but for Wilson it was more than that — it was a chance to get back on the court after he was robbed of the end of his North Carolina season due to injury.
“Honestly, like I cried before I played today,” Wilson said of getting to play. “I mean, it’s been five months to the day since the last time I played, and I’ve just been really emotional because I haven’t been able to play, and I felt terrible because my team lost in the tournament and my coach got fired. It just was a lot for me at that point. So coming out today, just felt like I’ve been waiting so long for this opportunity.”
Still, it’s just one game.
“We’re getting to know him, of course, the first game,” Splitter said. “He played extremely well, shooting the ball and doing different things. But this is a long road, and you know, be patient with everything.”
