ATLANTA (AP) — Caleb Wilson put on quite a show for the home folks, including a dazzling dunk that looked like he was about to soar out of the building.
Maybe he’ll be wearing a more familiar uniform next season.
The 6-foot-10 native of Atlanta scored 22 points and added three more slams to his nation-leading total, leading No 16 North Carolina to a 91-75 rout of Georgia Tech on Saturday.
Wilson is projected to be one of the top picks in this summer’s NBA draft. The hometown Hawks figure to be one of the teams selecting early, having landed a first-round choice from the lowly New Orleans Pelicans in a trade.
“I would love to play for the Hawks,” Wilson said. “It would be nice to come back home and play for my home city, but then again I’m just ready to make an impact for whatever’s out there.”
He sure showed off his skills against Georgia Tech, though it took him a while to get going. The Yellow Jackets double-teamed Wilson at the offensive end, forcing him to look for his teammates.
Turns out, that was just what the Tar Heels needed.
“It started with Caleb,” coach Hubert Davis said. “I thought they would have to double the post if we threw the ball into Caleb. Instinctively, as soon as the ball touched his hands, he got it to the open teammate. That ignited everyone else on how to play.”
When the Yellow Jackets backed off Wilson, he took control of the game. The freshman scored 14 points in the final 7:46 of the half, pushing North Carolina to a 52-37 lead at the break.
“I just had to figure out what’s going on,” Wilson said nonchalantly.
His most spectacular play came at the end of a fast break, as the Tar Heels raced from one end of the court to the other after a Georgia Tech miss.
Kyan Evans lobbed the ball toward the basket, but it looked to be too high for Wilson. Not at all. He leaped up to snare it with his right hand — and slammed it through the hoop in a stunning display of his high-flying style.
“I just jumped as high as I could,” Wilson said. “I didn’t want it to be a turnover. I wanted to try to grab it and save it. So I grabbed the ball and just threw it in the hole.”
Wilson set a couple of school freshman records by notching his 15th game with 20 points and reaching double-figure points for the 21st consecutive game to start his college career.
It doesn’t figure to be a long stay in Chapel Hill, obviously.
The NBA beckons — possibly with a return to Atlanta.
He’s already played well in a couple of appearances in his hometown, scoring 20 points and grabbing 15 rebounds when the Tar Heels edged Ohio State 71-70 a little over a month ago during the CBS Sports Classic at nearby State Farm Arena, which just happens to be home of the Hawks.
“I think for anybody, being able to come back home is a big deal,” Davis said. “He grew up with traffic about 25 minutes from here. One of the things that did help him today was he already played in Atlanta. … He played really well against Ohio State, but I think he came in more settled this time, the second time around.”
Wilson was thrilled to have another strong performance in the A-T-L, with plenty of family and friends rooting him on.
“I know there are people looking out for me,” he said. “People who want to see me do well.”
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