When Caleb Wilson was younger, baseball was his game of choice. He was an intimidating presence on the mound and a big target at first base. But nature got in the way and the taller he grew, the more he gravitated toward basketball.
“I love baseball. It was my favorite sport. It was tough, though, because I had a huge strike zone,” he said. “And it just kept getting bigger.”
Wilson, a senior forward at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School, is now a 6-foot-9 basketball player ranked as the No. 1 prospect in Georgia and a top-10 player in the country. Last week he made it official and committed to play basketball at North Carolina.
Looks like he’s more Michael Jordan than Randy Johnson after all.
Wilson is having a tremendous senior season. He averages 18.9 points, 11 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 2.4 steals and 3.4 blocks. Of all those impressive numbers, the most impressive may be the assists.
Wilson’s ability to distribute the ball is exceptional, as is his ability to think ahead and see the big picture. It’s like Wilson is playing chess and looking at the long game. He said it started from his days as a quarterback, a sport he gave up in the eighth grade.
“I think that … reading the defense in the backfield helped me when it comes to basketball,” he said.
Holy Innocents’ coach Mario Mays explained that Wilson able to figure out what likely will happen on the next play and act accordingly.
“Most guys are just trying to make a play, but he can see the next frame before it happens, which is pretty special, Mays said.
Mays saw it early and remembers the first time Wilson joined the team for a summer league game. Wilson had not yet started his freshman season at the school, and the Bears had a lot of older guys on the court.
“But the first couple of possessions, you knew this guy’s ability to pass was as good as anybody we had on the floor,” Mays said. “I told the guys, when we come across the half-court line, he needs to touch the ball. Everybody looked at me because we had some seniors on the team and I told them, ‘He doesn’t need to shoot it every time, but he needs to touch the ball every time we come across the line.'
“I explained to them that he’s going to make the right play, so just make sure you’re ready.”
When the timeout was over, Mays reinserted one of his veterans — a doubter — back in the game. Wilson was positioned in the middle against the opponent’s zone defense.
“So Caleb catches the ball, reverse pivots and throws the ball to the corner — right to the kid who I just put back into the game — and he’s got a wide-open 3-pointer,” Mays said. “It was based on Caleb knowing the kid was going to be right where he needed to be. And the kid ran by the bench and gave me a thumbs-up.”
It also helps that Wilson is a gym rat.
“I knew when he first got here that we could build a program around him,” Mays said. “From the time he spent in the gym, you knew he had a chance to be a really good ballplayer, but I think the difference is that he can do some things at that size that most guys can’t do at all. And he’s made it a point to become a better ball handler, which really separates him from most guys his size.”
Last summer Wilson began to spend more time in the weight room, getting stronger for the rigors and demands of college. And on the court he has spent time working on his moves in the post. He’s also focused on improving his midrange jumper and his 3-point shot.
“I’ve definitely gotten strong and more athletic, more agile and just more decisive,” Wilson said. “I’ve become a much better shot and become much more of a leader. I’ve had to kind of come into myself as being the guy who can vocally express things with my teammates, lead them with the stuff I’ve learned over the summer and the experiences I’ve had.”
It’s all paid off for his team.
The Bears are 15-4, ranked No. 1 in Class 3-1A Private and No. 67 in the nation by MaxPreps. Their out-of-state losses have come to North Tampa Christian of Florida and St. Joseph of Santa Monica, California, the nation’s No. 16 team. The only teams from Georgia to beat Holy Innocents’ is Class 4A No. 1 Pace Academy in overtime in the season opener and Class 7A No. 1 Grayson 68-66 on Saturday. Wilson had 28 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks against Grayson.
Wilson had offers to leave school and attend one of the basketball factory prep schools but decided to stick with Holy Innocents’ and try to bring home a state championship. Last year’s team lost in the title game.
“I wanted to stay home and have a legacy somewhere instead of leaving,” he said. “I feel like it’s important to spend time with your family and people you’re close to as much as you can because soon you have to move out and start your own life, and I don’t think you should rush into that.”
