Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis confronts devastating season-ending injury to star freshman Caleb Wilson, forcing a regroup before the ACC Tournament.
Earlier this month, North Carolina had the expectation that star freshmen Caleb Wilson would return from his left hand fracture before the NCAA Tournament.
Wilson had a cast on his hand following the injury he suffered against Miami on Feb. 10. He was working his way back to doing more drills in practice, but had not been cleared for five-on-five drills last week.
While working on a non-contact drill at practice Thursday, Wilson suffered a broken thumb on his right hand, ending the future NBA draft pick's season.
Following UNC's 76-61 loss to Duke on Saturday, Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis reacted to the loss of Wilson, saying the team will "move forward" without their star player.
"I found out about it yesterday," Davis said, via USA Today. "Our team will move forward. Our team has moved forward all year. Seth (Trimble) was out for nine games. Caleb has been out for seven. Henri (Veesaar) was out for two.
"It's nothing different than how our team has reacted and responded throughout the whole season. Obviously there's tremendous sadness for him."
Wilson led North Carolina in points per game this season with 19.8 points per game. He averaged a team-high 9.4 rebounds. He won't be easy to replace before the ACC Tournament.
Davis called Wilson a "special" player.
"I've talked about how special of a player he is, but also how remarkable of a kid and teammate he is," Davis said. "The passion that he has for his teammates, for North Carolina, for being on the floor and playing in games like this.
"It was a dream for him to play in the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. My heart is broken that he won't be able to do that. But we've finished the regular season and now it's time to regroup and move toward the ACC Tournament."
North Carolina will not play again until the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament on Thursday night.
The Tar Heels have had some time to prepare for the tournament without Wilson. But there won't be any margin for error moving forward.