Despite North Carolina's Caleb Wilson's season-ending injury, Hubert Davis celebrates his freshman's All-American honor, finding confidence in his team's resilience for the NCAA Tournament.
On Tuesday, the Associated Press revealed that it named North Carolina freshman Caleb Wilson a second-team All-American for his efforts this season.
Wilson averaged 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds for the Tar Heels before suffering a season ending broken thumb. He'll be a big miss for UNC before the NCAA Tournament.
The Tar Heels earned the No. 6 seed in the South Region and will take on No. 11 seed VCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.
During his news conference on Wednesday, North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis responded to the news Wilson earned All-American honors for the season, saying that award will put him in the record books for UNC.
"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, via 247Sports.
"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 struggled in the ACC Tournament without Wilson, losing 80-79 to Clemson in the quarterfinal. Davis thinks his team has done a good job of preparing for the NCAA Tournament without their best player.
North Carolina has had similar issues with Henri Veesaar and Seth Trimble this season.
"You talk about the nine games that Caleb has missed, well, Seth missed nine games at the beginning of the year, Henri missed two, so that's over half of our season we've been without our top three scorers," Davis said.
"That's one of the many reasons why I'm proud of this team, just the toughness, the resiliency to with those circumstances still find a way to be successful. It's something that has given us confidence moving forward heading into the NCAA Tournament."
VCU will be a tough game for the Tar Heels.
Without Wilson, UNC will need Veesaar and Tremble to have a great showing if it hopes to advance out of the first weekend.