Caleb Wilson Self-Scouts Versatile, 'Positionless' Game

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Caleb Wilson is no stranger to getting others involved through passing.
When playing football as a kid, Wilson spent time at quarterback. As a baseball player, he played pitcher, shortstop and first base. So while the 6-foot-10 forward will likely fill in as a big man for this year’s North Carolina team, his ability to pass gives his game and the UNC offense another dimension.
“I played a lot of sports that required throwing,” Wilson said on Thursday. “So giving the ball and distributing has always been a part of what I’ve done in my entire life. I’ve always felt like I’ve been a capable and good passer, but I feel like the more I’ve learned, the more I’ve been able to understand basketball. Not just who’s guarding me, but who’s around me. It’s been easier for me to make good decisions.”
Wilson’s game, he feels, can’t be confined to a particular position. Along with his passing ability and frame, he’s a “freak athlete,” as Jaydon Young described him, who can handle the ball and make pull-up jumpshots. Defensively, he feels he can stay in front of anyone.
Wilson said he watches NBA tape of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama, while also cutting on clips of Kevin Durant during his college days at Texas. When asked where he sees himself slotting in on the court this season, Wilson didn’t confine himself to a specific position.
“I feel like basketball is kind of positionless at this point, and especially the way I’m used in our system,” Wilson said. “I don’t want to say I’m a four or a three, because I feel like I do so much. I feel like in whatever (is needed), I’m going to be able to do what it takes. If I’m needed to just rebound the basketball, that’s what I’ll do.
“But I think I pass the ball just like a guard. I think I rebound like a four or five and I think I’m athletic as a three, two or one. So I don’t understand putting people in positions. I just feel like you play what’s needed to happen. Basketball, to me, is a sport that’s not predictable. It’s not like football where, if you’re running back, this is all you’re doing. I can get a rebound, and I push like a guard would. So it’s hard to box myself in.”
Wilson posted averages of 21.7 points, 11.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 3.6 blocks and 2.1 steals per game as a senior at Atlanta (Ga.) Holy Innocents, guiding the team to a 27-4 record and the private school state title. He earned McDonald’s All-American honors, playing in that game and the Jordan Brand Classic. Wilson was named as Georgia’s 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year.
Veesaar noted that Wilson’s gifts as a distributor caught him off guard. He noticed Wilson’s second-nature court vision very quickly when sharing the court with him.
“He’s really talented as a scorer, but he’s also really good at reading the game,” Veesaar said this week at ACC Tipoff. “That really surprised me. I remember during the summer, having him get the rebound, bring the ball up from between halfcourt and the 3-point line and throw over-the-top passes to the five-man. I was like, ‘Is that a guard or a big guy?’”
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Wilson feels he’s switchable defensively, and he welcomes the challenge of guarding smaller players. He said he watches Marcus Smart and Tony Allen for their defensive prowess, noting what they watch for and how they work as point-of-attack defenders.
“If you follow my basketball journey, switching is something that’s going to make me look really good,” Wilson said. “I like guarding guards because every guard, when they feel like they have a big on them, they try to dance and stuff like that, and I just end up taking it or making them shoot a bad shot. It’s kind of like ‘ego-ing’ them into making a move. I love playing defense, I love switching, so I definitely feel comfortable with it.”
Wilson is one of many capable ball handlers on North Carolina’s roster this season. The team returned Seth Trimble while bringing in Kyan Evans and Jaydon Young in the transfer portal. Freshmen Derek Dixon and Isaiah Denis fill out the backcourt, and Luka Bogavac is another capable ball handler on the roster.
What punctuates Wilson’s well-rounded play is the unbridled confidence that comes with it. Wilson said his confidence comes from the work he puts in, citing the extended hours and the consistency of working out multiple times a day.
That level of confidence comes out through his personality, and in practice, it’s translating on the court.
“His first open gym, he was super aggressive and kind of asserted himself, saying ‘I’m here,’” Trimble said at ACC Tipoff this week. “Since then, I could tell what kind of kid he was.”