The North Carolina Tar Heels are in a little bit of disarray. The Tar Heels fired Hubert Davis without a real succession plan, and then on Friday evening, Caleb Wilson, unsurprisingly, departed for the NBA. What is next for the Tar Heels?
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UNC started the 2025-26 season strong, winning 19 of its first 24 games. But Wilson broke his left hand in the Tar Heels’ loss to Miami on February 10 and then fractured his right thumb as he was preparing to return in practice. The Tar Heels went 5-4 down the stretch, losing their last three. After falling to Duke in the ACC regular-season final, the Heels lost to Clemson in the conference tournament quarterfinals (by 1). They were then ousted in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by VCU in overtime.
UNC finished the season with a 24-9 record, marking the Tar Heels’ fifth straight 20-win campaign. Still, the Tar Heels brass inexplicably decided to part ways with Davis, who is a legend in Chapel Hill. Davis finishes his five-year tenure, fourth on the program’s list with 125 victories, though just 11th in winning percentage (69.4). He also led them to an ACC regular-season title and a Final Four appearance.
UNC relied heavily on Wilson, who had a historic freshman campaign, and senior forward Henri Veesaar, as well as senior guard Seth Trimble, this past season. While the trio led the way for the Tar Heels, all three dealt with injuries. Those three players missed a combined 2o games. The Heels were 11-4 when all three players were available.
Despite the injuries, UNC ranked in the top 100 nationally in both offense and defense efficiency. The Tar Heels averaged 79.7 points per game (84th), shot 47.1% from the field (65th), and shared the ball extremely well (16.0 assists). They also protected the ball well at 9.6 turnovers (29th).
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