North Carolina Tar Heels star Caleb Wilson is expected to be a top pick in the NBA Draft, but there are some concerns that teams may have regarding the forward.
North Carolina Tar Heels star Caleb Wilson had an incomplete season in Chapel Hill, as he suffered a fractured hand in February and then a broken thumb during practice while preparing to return from the initial injury.
As a result, we didn't get to see Wilson in the ACC tournament nor the NCAA Tournament, which was definitely disappointing.
Nevertheless, that has not stopped Wilson from being a top-four prospect on just about every single board heading into the NBA Draft, and ESPN's Jeremy Woo recently ranked him fourth on his own list.
However, Woo has a couple of significant concerns about Wilson going into the professional level.
"Fleshing those skills out is going to take time -- although Wilson is unpolished as a ball handler and a perimeter shooter (he shot just 7-for-27 from 3-point range), his physicality and motor largely compensated in college," Woo wrote. "His skill level has to improve for him to truly function on the perimeter in the NBA, which means his projection requires a bit more imagination than the other consensus top prospects."
Caleb Wilson. Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.Wilson definitely needs to improve his jump shot. That is well known. But the good news is that he shot a very respectable 71.3 percent from the free-throw line on 7.5 attempts per game, so he appears to have the ability to show.
His ball-handling might be a bit more complicated given that he stands 6-foot-10, but surely, whichever team drafts him can work with him in that area, as well.
The 19-year-old averaged 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks over 31.3 minutes per game this past season while shooting 57.8 percent from the floor.
As a two-way talent, Wilson might actually have more potential than any other player in this class thanks to his tremendous blend of length, athleticism and toughness.
Wilson has even drawn comparisons to Kevin Garnett due to his impressive motor, and his body type is always very similar to when Garnett came out of high school.
The general consensus is that AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer will all be drafted ahead of Wilson this June, but you get the feeling any team that passes on Wilson will be making a critical mistake.
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