How Caleb Wilson's injury impacts UNC-Duke, NCAA tournament and NBA draft - ESPN

The North Carolina Tar Heels were dealt a blow Friday when Caleb Wilson was ruled out for the season after undergoing surgery on a broken right thumb injury he sustained during practice Thursday.

The star freshman has been sidelined since the Feb. 10 loss at Miami, when he originally suffered a fracture to his left, non-shooting hand. He was «progressing» toward a return when he broke his thumb.

What does his absence mean for North Carolina's chances against Duke on Saturday (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) — and through the NCAA tournament? What about Wilson's outlook in the 2026 NBA draft? ESPN's college basketball reporters Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf break down the impact for the Tar Heels, and ESPN's NBA draft analyst Jeremy Woo details how it could influence the draft.

Myron Medcalf: Having Wilson on the court would have changed the entire dynamic in the game.

Remember, the Tar Heels were down by 12 points entering halftime of the first game in Chapel Hill on Feb. 7. You could sense that the vibes in the building were tough — until Wilson quickly scored, got a steal and scored on another layup seconds later on his team's first possessions after the break. That sequence changed the environment and boosted the energy in the building.

You could make the case that Cameron Boozer (24 points, 11 rebounds) met his match in Wilson, who was KenPom's MVP in that game after scoring 23 points and recording a ridiculous 158.0 offensive rating compared to Boozer's 107.0 that night.

On Saturday, the Tar Heels will miss the length, explosiveness and two-way playmaking of their brightest star against a Blue Devils team that looks even better than it did entering the first matchup. The good news is UNC is 5-1 without Wilson and sustained