UNC freshman an early first-round pick in USA TODAY Sports' NBA Mock Draft
Thanks to Hubert Davis reinforcing his roster through the transfer portal and another solid recruiting class, UNC should return to its contending ways in the 2025-2026 college basketball season.
North Carolina added necessary height via the portal, highlighted by 7-foot center Henri Veesaar and 6'11" Alabama transfer Jarin Stevenson. The Tar Heels also nabbed a starting point guard in Kyan Evans, who comes over from Colorado State, plus a pair of shooting guards in Jonathan Powell and Jaydon Young.
UNC's most anticipated roster addition, though, is 5-star freshman power forward Caleb Wilson. A versatile 6'9" standout who can finish thunderous dunks, score from virtually anywhere on the court, defend anyone and rebound with ease, Wilson should start for Hubert from Day One.
Yet to play in a college game, Wilson is still garnering plenty of preseason NBA Draft hype. In USA TODAY Sports' way-too-early 2026 NBA Mock Draft, Wilson will be selected sixth overall.
Leading the above Mock Draft is former North Carolina target AJ Dybantsa, who ultimately chose to play at BYU. Darryn Peterson (Kansas), Cam Boozer (Duke), former Tar Heel target Nate Ament (Tennessee) and Karim Lopez, a highly-touted Mexican prospect who plays for the New Zealand Breakers.
Wilson is a 5-tool player the Tar Heels and their massive fanbase crave, as he averaged 21.7 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, 3.5 blocks and 1.9 steals per game during his senior high school campaign. Wilson led Holy Innocents Episcopal School to a state championship last fall, earned a McDonalds All-American invite and was named Georgia's 2024-2025 Gatorade Boys' Basketball Player of the Year.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
10 minutes ago
- USA Today
Slimmed-down Tommy Morrison makes Walker Cup statement after stroke play at 2025 U.S. Amateur
(Editor's note: Golfweek's Cameron Jourdan is following all the action from Olympic Club. Check out his updates from the first round here.) SAN FRANCISCO — It didn't take long for Tommy Morrison to notice the changes in his body. While competing in the Amateur Championship and European Amateur earlier this summer, Morrison thought he was eating cleaner while in Europe. He started losing weight and felt better than he has in some time. When he got home, he decided to go on a diet. He has stuck to it, and the results are showing on the golf course. Morrison, who held the co-lead after the opening round of the 2025 U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club, followed his opening 66 with a 2-under 68 on the Lake Course, finishing at 6 under heading into the weekend. Morrison, the 6-foot-8 rising senior at Texas, trails only world No. 4 Preston Stout after the morning wave Tuesday and is safely into the match-play portion of the championship, which begins Wednesday. Maybe Tuesday night will bring a bit of celebration from the Morrisons, as on Monday, Morrison turned 21. What did he do in the short amount of time between his tee times? "My mom and I went to Outback and got a steak, went to bed, but probably 9:30," He said. "Was probably reallyboring." His play has been nothing but at Olympic Club, where less than 20 players are under par as the stroke-play portion of the championship progresses. Perhaps the most notable moment in his round happened after his final putt dropped. Morrison is the highest-ranked American in the World Amateur Golf Ranking not on the Walker Cup team. Captain Nathan Smith watched Morrison tee off Tuesday morning and watched numerous shots throughout the round. As Morrison scaled the hill behind the 18th green to sign his scorecard, Smith was lurking to give him a fist bump and congratulate him. "I don't think it was on my mind that much," Morrison said of trying to make the Walker Cup team. "I think just just wanted to have two really solid days. And that was probably a boring answer, but it wasn't on my mind too much." He gave Smith a good show through stroke play. In four weeks, the Walker Cup will commence at Cypress Point Club, the No. 1 course on Golfweek's Best Classic 200 list, which sits about two hours south of Olympic Club. While a good showing during match play would make him a shoo-in selection, Morrison didn't leave any doubt as to how he could help the Americans in a few weeks time. The slimmed-down Morrison still towers like the cypress trees lining the fairways at Olympic Club, but his game is beefed up to start the week. He said he's down about 25 pounds doing a carnivore diet consisting of a lot of protein and light dairy. "No carbs, no sugar. Just did it for like, a month and a half when I got back from Europe," Morrison said, "and I think I needed to lose some weight. I was getting pretty chubby." He said the weight started falling off fast after he changed his eating habits. His game, however, is shining at the biggest amateur event in the world.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Patrick Cantlay, Rickie Fowler join chorus that Keegan Bradley should play in 2025 Ryder Cup
OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Everyone has an opinion on whether Keegan Bradley should pick himself for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Six players will officially automatically qualify for the American side led by Captain Keegs after this week's BMW Championship and then he'll have one more week to see how things play out at the Tour Championship before picking his final six members of the 12-man side that will try to win back the Cup at Bethpage Black in late September. The captain's pick will be made on Aug. 27. 'If I was the captain, I'd pick Keegan. I think he's played great,' said Patrick Cantlay, who is on the outside looking in at No. 15 in the U.S. point standings but has been a key cog in the last several U.S. sides, including the Presidents Cup. 'If he feels that he can play golf like a normal week given all his other responsibilities, I'm just saying that if I was the captain I think he's definitely one of the best American players, and his results have shown that.' Bradley enters this week's BMW Championship at Caves Valley outside of Baltimore as the No. 10 ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking. He's also No. 10 in the Ryder Cup points standings. Bradley initially said he would have to finish in the top 6 and that he wouldn't pick himself but he has since softened that stance after winning the Travelers Championship in June. Cantlay isn't the only American who thinks Bradley needs to be on the team. 'I would pick him too,' said Rickie Fowler. 'I think it would be hard to find really any or many Americans that would argue that point. We'll see. I know he's maybe getting to the area of the 10, 11 number on points of where he may think, like, 'Is this a spot where I should not pick myself?'' Bradley's game has cooled off since his victory. He hasn't finished better than T-30 in his last four starts, including a missed cut at the Wyndham Championship and began last week with a triple bogey in his first round and never really recovered, finishing T-44. Count Hal Sutton, the 2004 U.S. captain, among those who think Bradley has played well enough to be on the team but should relinquish his captain duties to one of his capable assistants. 'As a captain you're no better than (your players) are playing and if they're not playing well, it's pretty hard to win. You can't out-captain out of that, so I'd just play,' he said. And why should Bradley pass the baton on the captain duties? 'Because it takes your mind off of the playing if you've got to make some decisions on being the captain too. He's got to make some decisions on being captain too. He can let one of them do it,' explained Sutton.
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
Phillies Predicted To Cut Ties With Versatile 30-Year-Old Despite Recent Surge
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Philadelphia Phillies are primed for a World Series push this season. They have as much talent as ever, with Kyle Schwarber leading the way on offense and Zack Wheeler leading the pitching staff. With a few injured stars set to return from the injured list in the near future, the Phillies could have a bit of a roster crunch in the coming weeks. FanSided's Zachary Rotman recently predicted the Phillies would cut ties with (or potentially option) veteran utilityman Weston Wilson when Alec Bohm returns from injury. CINCINNATI, OHIO - AUGUST 11: Weston Wilson #37 of the Philadelphia Phillies hits an RBI double during the eighth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on August 11, 2025 in Cincinnati,... CINCINNATI, OHIO - AUGUST 11: Weston Wilson #37 of the Philadelphia Phillies hits an RBI double during the eighth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on August 11, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Edmundo Sosa #33 of the Philadelphia Phillies scores. More"Bohm will be the team's everyday third baseman when he returns, thus creating a platoon at second base with Edmundo Sosa and Bryson Stott, and creating a competition for who will platoon with Max Kepler in left field," Rotman wrote. "Both Otto Kemp and Weston Wilson have spent time in that role this season, and while Wilson has performed well since his recall after the All-Star break, it'd be tough for them to send Kemp back down to Triple-A. "Kemp's overall numbers might not be stellar, but he's slashing .268/.362/.463 with two of his four big league home runs against southpaws this season. His .825 OPS against lefties suggests he'd be an ideal platoon partner with Kepler, and Wilson simply hasn't outperformed him this season." It's more likely that the Phillies will option Wilson rather than designate him for assignment or release him. Still, Otto Kemp makes slightly more sense as a platoon option with Max Kepler, so it's more like the Phillies will keep Kemp rather than Wilson on the roster. It's going to be a tough decision to make, especially since Wilson has played well recently. If he can stay hot for the next few days, there's a chance it's Kemp who's demoted instead. More MLB: Phillies Predicted To Demote Young Pitcher When Jose Alvarado Returns
