Given that the college basketball season is still relatively young, it's tough to say there's a perfect player for the Freshman of the Year award, and one game really might mean everything.
That’s what makes the latest Freshman of the Year discussion interesting, mainly when it comes to North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson.
Wilson has played very well throughout the year, but some believe that his game against SMU, where he struggled a bit, might be the difference in him not being one of the favorites to win the Freshman of the Year award.
Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller explained his reasoning behind Wilson landing fourth in his most recent rankings, but also acknowledged how small the margin really is.
“Behind Cameron Boozer as the clear No. 1, it's really a three-way tie between Caleb Wilson, Kingston Flemings and AJ Dybantsa in the race for second place. That's not how rankings work, though, and frankly any iteration of the trio would've felt like disrespect to the player who landed at No. 4. But because Wilson was less than spectacular (but still solid) in Saturday's loss to SMU—13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals—he temporarily draws the short straw.
“That said, he has been a rim-rattling, shot-blocking, double-double machine who entered that loss on a streak of six consecutive games with at least 20 points. Wilson has also scored at least 13 points in every game this season and has tallied at least seven rebounds in each contest since only grabbing four in the season opener,” he wrote.
If Cameron Boozer is the clear No. 1, and he is, then Wilson’s workload should stack up as the most complete behind him right now.
One off night against SMU shouldn’t outweigh weeks of big time production, as it isn’t like he has vanished in tough matchups.
For North Carolina, he’s been about as good as anybody could’ve expected, and even if he doesn't win the award, it doesn't mean that the season won't go as planned from his perspective. He might not be at top 3 draft pick, but he’s certainly playing like a top three freshman in the nation at the moment.