UNC’s Caleb Wilson returns to Atlanta bigger and better in record-setting show

On Friday night at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School, the schedule was jam-packed with reasons for the gym to be packed out. An alumni tailgate beforehand. A silent disco planned for afterward. A pep rally squeezed somewhere in between, complete with a teachers-versus-students basketball game.

And yet, when tip-off came between Holy Innocents and Carver, the noise never quite followed. The buzz never quite crescendoed the way it had a year ago when Caleb Wilson was still playing here.

Last season, Friday nights at HIES became must-see, standing-room-only events. Atlanta Hawks sometimes wandered in. So did a rotating cast of scouts, assistants and evaluators, lining up to watch the wunderkind go to work. Even now, with Wilson gone but not far, there’s still a hum around his name at HIES. That was especially the case this Friday, with No. 16 North Carolina set to play Georgia Tech the following afternoon.

Rumors floated through the gym. Maybe Wilson would stop by. No one knew for sure, but there was just enough possibility to keep people checking their phones. When it became clear Wilson wouldn’t appear, a few teachers pivoted — bartering for tickets to Saturday’s game, asking administrators or even texting Wilson himself.

All that anticipation was rewarded a day later.

In front of family, friends and more than a few faces that once dotted the baselines of his high school gym, the homecoming king put on a show. Wilson scored a team-high 22 points, guiding No. 16 North Carolina (17-4, 5-3 ACC) to a 91-75 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday.

It was another typical Caleb Wilson performance that Tar Heel fans have come to expect — which is to say, the unexpected. The pièce de résistance, of course, came in the first half when Kyan Evans floated a lob that looked unreachable. And yet, Wilson rose off two feet, caught it one-handed near the top of the square and slammed it home in one fluid motion.

How’d he do it?

“I just jumped as high as I could, honestly,” Wilson said with a laugh after the game.

That tends to work when you’re Caleb Wilson.

Wilson’s record-setting day

Against Georgia Tech, Wilson etched a few new lines in North Carolina’s record book. Saturday marked his 21st consecutive game in double figures to open his career, setting a program record and surpassing Rashad McCants’ mark from the 2002–03 season. It also marked Wilson’s 15th 20-point game of the season, the most ever by a Carolina freshman, pushing him past Tyler Hansbrough.

And yet, even as Wilson is doing things nobody else has, those who knew him in high school insist he’s largely the same kid.

He’s added 10 to 15 pounds since his senior year, his frame thicker and more muscular, barely recognizable to those who remember the gangly high schooler gliding up and down the floor at Holy Innocents’. But he still processes the game a step ahead, still makes connections quickly, still trusts the pass as much as the shot.

And that’s on the court. Off it, he’s described as authentic and genuine in everything he does.

“He’s a really funny kid — young man, I guess we gotta call him a young man [now],” HIES assistant boys basketball coach Adam Griffin told the N&O. “He legitimately cares and invests in the people in his life. You can see that, too. If you don’t know somebody and you see them in a sports arena or whatever, you might wonder, ‘Is that really who they are?’ What you see from Caleb, he’s the real deal.”

‘Caleb never slouched’

Adrienne Rowe, Wilson’s ninth-grade history teacher, recalls being instantly struck by Wilson’s intellect in the classroom. Then, when Rowe went to some of Wilson’s games, she noticed that same intuition carried over to basketball — his athletic IQ, his ability to read the game and the way he could anticipate plays before they even happened.

“I distinctly remember being very impressed,” she told the N&O. “Like, as a ninth-grader, the connections and analysis he could make — just intuitively, without a second thought. I’m thinking to myself, ‘Wow.’”

So it’s not a surprise to Rowe that those same traits show up every time Wilson throws on the UNC uniform.

Wilson has built a reputation this season as a student of the game. Against Florida State in December, he not only recorded 22 points, 16 rebounds and six assists, but credited his film study for his edge. The freshman said he spent his holiday break reviewing every UNC nonconference game and studying the Seminoles’ tendencies, breaking down how they defended similar players and anticipating how they would try to stop him.

After the Tar Heels’ ill-fated California trip, with losses to Stanford and Cal, Wilson was quick to point out specific plays with pinpoint accuracy where he missed a tag or defensive assignment.

Against Georgia Tech on Saturday, it was more of the same. Wilson was held scoreless for North Carolina’s first 28 points. After that, he had 14 of the Tar Heels’ last 24 heading into halftime.

So what was the difference?

“I just had to figure out where they were doubling me from,” Wilson said. “And where to get my points at. Sometimes it takes me a little longer to figure it out and what’s going on. But once I figure it out, it’s over.”

Case in point: with seven minutes left, Wilson caught the ball 15 feet from the hoop. He began to post his defender up when he saw a second Yellow Jacket rushing in. So Wilson spun the other way. Suddenly, he was airborne, rising into a jump shot over two outstretched arms. The ball arced high, almost teasingly, then sank. Wilson turned and jogged upcourt, flashing a grin like he just reminded everyone why they were here.

That, too, touches on something Rowe remembers from Wilson — even back in his freshman year: his confidence.

“One thing I always noticed,” she said, “is that a lot of very tall people don’t always feel comfortable in their height. Caleb never slouched.”

He didn’t then, so why would he now?

‘They were rocking’

Tamarious Hill, the in-game master of ceremonies known around Holy Innocents’ as DJ THill, remembers the energy Wilson brought to the gym like it was yesterday.

After Friday’s game — an 80-58 blowout of Carver — he looked across the hardwood and gestured at the now-vacant student section as he let the memories flow. Hill recalls that, even before Wilson’s own senior game, the blue-chip recruit was in the stands for the honorary middle school matchup, leading cheers as if he were the student body’s own personal hype man.

“When he was here, they were rocking,” Hill recalled. “His energy just fills up this arena.”

He wasn’t flashy for attention, Hill said. Wilson was selfless. He hustled on defense, set up teammates and made the people around him — classmates, fans, parents — feel like part of the show. Hill saw that carry over to Chapel Hill when, for the Tar Heels’ early-season clash against Kansas, Wilson helped orchestrate a white-out theme.

“It’s impromptu and it just happens — that’s the kind of energy he brings,” Hill said. “He makes people want to get behind what he was doing here, man.”

And so it shouldn’t be a shock that on Saturday, when Wilson hit an and-one layup with 5:47 left in the first half, he made a point to high-five and dap up friends and fans along the baseline.

Later that half, after a dunk in front of the same group, he engaged those same onlookers in some chatter.

Marcus Dean, an Atlanta-based lawyer and UNC alumnus, watched it all unfold from the baseline.

“He was nodding and like, ‘Yeah! I told y’all! Oh yeah! Oh yeah!’” Dean told the N&O at halftime on Saturday. “You could tell he was pumped up. A lot of his friends and family were here, and he just really wanted to have a good performance.”

And yet, after having a similar homecoming moment against Ohio State in December, Wilson was more settled this time, Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis said. Wilson agreed.

“It’s hard to play without emotion when you play in your hometown,” Wilson said, “but I’ve been able to read a lot and ground myself before I play, no matter the environment or situation.”

Still, the occasion meant more. Of course it did. Before the game, fans young and old lined up for autographs (even more than usual) holding shirts, jerseys and posters, many stamped with nods to Holy Innocents. Dozens of former upper-school classmates of Wilson — including super-fan Nick Neumann, decked out in a Caleb Wilson cape, suit, shirt and tie (with more planned for the UNC-Duke game) — filled the stands, ready to assist with chants and cheers that grew louder as the game went on.

And then there was Jerry Wilson, Caleb’s dad, enjoying his birthday in plain sight. After all, what better way to celebrate a birthday than courtside, watching your kid light it up in your own city? With his son’s jersey layered over a Carolina Blue hoodie, UNC hat snug on his head, Jerry sat behind the bench with the other parents — but he didn’t stay put. He leapt from his seat and yelled after a coast-to-coast layup, stomped his feet at a two-handed slam in transition, pumped his fist, smiled wide.

“It just means a lot,” his son, Caleb, said after the win. “This is my hometown. This is my original community. So just to have that support and that background, just knowing that people are looking up to me and people really want to see me do well, it’s definitely important. It feels really good.”

If the noise wasn’t at Holy Innocents on Friday evening, it was easy to hear where it had gone on Saturday afternoon.

It followed Wilson and everything that comes with the Caleb Wilson experience: the dunks and high-flying highlights, the pro potential and promise of the unpredictable. But for the people who’ve known him longest, Saturday offered something better, something simpler: a chance to see the same kid, err young man, just as he’s always been.

This story was originally published February 1, 2026 at 6:30 AM with the headline "UNC’s Caleb Wilson returns to Atlanta bigger and better in record-setting show."