North Carolina had a disappointing foray into the NCAA tournament, and Caleb Wilson’s broken thumb had a lot to do with it. The freshman star suffered the injury while working his way back from a fractured left hand, and it caused him to miss the postseason.
Despite the injury, Wilson is still trending to be a top-five pick in this year’s draft. He was the No. 4 pick in all three mocks—going to the Utah Jazz in Wasserman’s mock and to the Sacramento Kings in the other two.
“There may be true star potential here and on a Kings roster that isn’t built to compete for the post-season right now, he should have the benefit of playing through his mistakes from the first day,” Finkelstein wrote of the pairing.
Regardless of how the lottery falls, it’ll be a surprise if Wilson falls out of the top five, as Wasserman noted:
“Widely viewed as the No. 4 prospect or a top-five lock, Wilson exceeded expectations with the effectiveness (19.8 points, 9.4 boards, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.4 blocks) of his athleticism, transition ball-handling, two-point shotmaking, passing and defensive playmaking.”
The order at the top may be shuffled in the coming weeks, but it seems like any real draft-day drama will begin at No. 5.