North Carolina's Caleb Wilson details the painful practice injury that shattered his NCAA Tournament dreams and shifts his focus to the NBA draft.
No. 6 seed North Carolina will open their postseason up against No. 11 seed VCU in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.
The Tar Heels will be without star freshman Caleb Wilson, who suffered a season-ending broken thumb at practice earlier in March. He had been out since Feb. 10 when he suffered a fractured hand against Miami.
Wilson averaged 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds for the Tar Heels. He'll be a big miss for UNC in the Big Dance.
Without Wilson, Clemson defeated North Carolina in the ACC Tournament last week.
During a news conference on Wednesday, Wilson opened up on how the freshman's season ended. He said he experienced severe pain before getting his thumb checked out.
"I didn't know right away," Wilson said, via USA Today. "It hurt a lot, and things usually don't hurt that much. I just went and got x-rays and found out."
Wilson has been a vocal leader for North Carolina since he suffered the hand fracture in February. He'll still cheer the team on during the NCAA Tournament.
But his focus on the court is turning to the NBA, where he's expected to be a top pick in the draft this summer.
During the news conference, UNC head coach Hubert Davis said he and Wilson were heartbroken that he couldn't play in the NCAA Tournament.
However, Davis was proud to break the news to Wilson that he earned second-team All-American honors.
"He's somebody who obviously people have seen how gifted and talented he is on the basketball court, but he's just as gifted as a person and as a teammate," Davis said.
"He had a burning desire and a dream to play in the NCAA Tournament, and he's not being able to do that. So being able to give him that news doesn't replace not being able to play in the NCAA Tournament, but it did put a smile on his face."
UNC will face an uphill battle to make it out of the first weekend without Wilson.
North Carolina will need to lean on Seth Trimble and Henri Veesaar to lead the way. Those two have been vital to the team's success since Wilson was sidelined in February.