March 6, 2026, 3:39 p.m. ET
North Carolina freshman big man Caleb Wilson will miss the NCAA men’s basketball tournament due to a broken thumb, which is such unfortunate news.
Wilson, projected at No. 4 overall to the Indiana Pacers in USA TODAY’s latest mock draft and also ranks No. 4 in Rookie Scale’s consensus big board, will sadly not have the opportunity to play on the biggest stage during March Madness.
But for scouts and evaluators, the freshman has already done more than enough to prove he is one of the first players who should hear his name called in the 2026 NBA Draft.
The big man played his final game of the season on February 10 before suffering a left-hand fracture. He then broke his right thumb during practice before he was able to return to the court.
Before the injury, via Bart Torvik, the freshman led the nation with 67 dunks recorded. He also averaged 1.4 unassisted dunks per 40 minutes, according to CBB Analytics, which was the most among all freshmen.
Meanwhile, on the defensive end of the floor, he was the only player under 20 years old to reach thresholds of 2.5 percent for both block and steal percentage while also notching a defensive rebound percentage above 20.0 percent.
Wilson also ended the season with a 12.9 in the catch-all metric box plus-minus, which puts him in elite company. Before this season, the only other players in his age group since 2008 to ever record higher were Zion Williamson, Anthony Davis, Cooper Flagg, Michael Beasley, Kevin Love and Karl-Anthony Towns.
All except Beasley (No. 2 overall) and Love (No. 5 overall) were the first overall pick in their draft class.
We should not expect to see Wilson selected ahead of Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybynsta or Cameron Boozer. Otherwise, however, Wilson has the versatility needed on both ends of the floor to contribute to any team in the league.