CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — With 4:50 left in Monday’s first half against East Carolina, Caleb Wilson, fighting for offensive rebounding position, flung ECU guard Tybo Bailey to the floor. What was initially ruled a common foul was upgraded to a flagrant after review — Wilson’s first of the season.

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East Carolina did an effective job of frustrating Wilson in the first half with double teams and aggressive defense, forcing the star freshman into a season-high four turnovers before the break.

In North Carolina’s sixth game of the season, St. Bonaventure became the first opponent to double-team Wilson, and every team since has followed suit.

“As teams continue to build more people around him, just learning when to be aggressive, when to get the ball back out,” said Hubert Davis earlier this month. “He can find guys, and so actually, when they put two on the ball, he becomes a playmaker, and he’s really instinctive, and he knows where his teammates are, and gets the ball to where it needs to be.”

When managed well, the extra defensive attention paid to the projected lottery pick has opened up quality shots for other Tar Heels. When it hasn’t, turnovers have blemished an otherwise phenomenal freshman campaign.

Despite their first half success, East Carolina did not stop Wilson, however. The Atlanta native finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds — his fifth double-double in his last six games.

“Caleb is one heck of a player, and he needs his teammates to be able to step up and hit shots,” said Jonathan Powell this month. “So when he’s getting doubled… it’s just being ready to shoot and playing with confidence.” 

North Carolina hosts a 7-6 Florida State squad on Tuesday night in what should serve as a warm-up for an improved ACC slate. Wilson has been briefed by coaches and teammates about what to expect in conference play.

“Just told me to expect a pickup in scouting and things like that and teams really focusing on me,” he said. “But I feel like that’s kind of already happening to a pretty extreme extent.”

Wilson has enjoyed a dominant December despite facing the ever-increasing defensive attention. Through six games this month, the freshman is averaging 19.3 points and 12 rebounds. The lone team to find relative success in slowing him was Kentucky on Dec. 2, when Wilson was held to 15 points but still impacted the game in major ways, dishing out a season-high six assists.

One area where the freshman can improve, however, is at the free-throw line. Wilson leads North Carolina with 111 attempts — 60 more than the next closest Tar Heel — but has made 77, a 69% clip.

“I’m just gonna go back to Atlanta and work on free throws,” Wilson said with a laugh when asked about his plans for the holiday break.