The game had barely started when Caleb Wilson took flight. The North Carolina freshman saw that a UNC shot was going to bound high off the rim.
And so there he went, the No. 5 player in the Class of 2025, lifting off, snatching the ball out of midair and throwing it down with two hands.
It was just the first UNC bucket of the game, but it set a tone, got the home crowd rocking, and showed that in this battle of freshman phenoms, Wilson wasn't going to be outdone.
The Tar Heels eventually benefited from a massive surge out of halftime to beat Kansas in an early-season battle of ranked foes.
Jayhawks freshman Darryn Peterson, one of just four players ranked higher than Wilson by the major recruiting services, did his part to keep Kansas in the game.
But in the end, Wilson and the Tar Heels were too good.
Wilson finished with a great night:
- 24 points
- 7 rebounds
- 4 assists
- 4 steals
- 9-12 FG
- 0-1 3FG
- 6-9 FT
Peterson got hot late after battling early foul trouble. He wound up with great stats, too:
- 22 points
- 3 rebounds
- 3 assists
- 2 steals
- 1 block
- 8-14 FG
- 3-5 3FG
- 3-5 FT
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Both of these guys are likely to enter the NBA Draft after this season, and they'll both be lottery picks and potentially top-five selections battling for No. 1 overall.
But first, they're doing battle for two of college basketball's great blue bloods.
It's a cool thing for the sport that Peterson is at Kansas and Wilson is at North Carolina. They could've gone anywhere in the country, or even followed routes that ignored college hoops altogether.
Instead, they're spending their lone years on campus playing in some of the most storied buildings, in some of the most storied colors, in the sport.
Wilson got the better of Peterson on Friday night. But their presents, and their futures, are both oh so bright.
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