Story by
Wilson, Veesaar reflect on UNC's hard-fought win over Ohio State
- Story by
- Wilson, Veesaar reflect on UNC's hard-fought win over Ohio State
North Carolina big men Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar spoke with the media after the Tar Heels defeated Ohio State 71-70 in the final seconds Saturday at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Wilson dominated in his hometown, finishing with 20 points and 15 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. He also recorded three blocks, with his third and final one coming in the closing seconds when he rejected Ohio State forward Devin Royal's potential game-winning putback layup.
Advertisement
Veesaar also posted a double-double, finishing with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range, and 10 rebounds. He scored the game-winning basket for UNC with 7.2 seconds left. He also had a team-high five assists.
Here's what they had to say after the game:
Caleb, over the last 48 hours, after winning in front of family and friends, how are you feeling right now?
Dec 20, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Caleb Wilson (8) shoots against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
(Brett Davis, Brett Davis-Imagn Images)
CALEB WILSON:I feel great. It was definitely a huge win. Of course we all like blowouts, but having a fun close the game like that is definitely fun, especially for the crowd.
Like I said, I'm just glad we got the win and I'm glad we got Seth back. I feel like we're a much better team.
Advertisement
The last play there, what happened?
HENRI VEESAAR:Yeah, I got my fingers on it. They tried to get it up and I got my fingers on it and then that was it.
For both of you, you were up 11 and couldn't extend the lead. Was there any stress in that last minute, and how did you pull it out?
HENRI VEESAAR:I feel like as a team as a whole. We had been in those situations so many times in practice. Like down eight, but this time had a lead, so like them just (indiscernible) we just need to win by one, and that's what we did. Just getting stop by stop, trying to make the game as short as possible, get in position a little longer, and then just win the game play-by-play.
Advertisement
Was there any stress in falling behind?
CALEB WILSON: No, it wasn't no stress. I was getting mad when I let the and-1 three happen, but every second we work on those things in practice. It was just about trusting our process and we can get it done.
Henri, Caleb mentioned it, but with Seth Trimble back in the lineup, how much more does he open things up for you guys?
Dec 20, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Seth Trimble (7) celebrates after a victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
(Brett Davis, Brett Davis-Imagn Images)
HENRI VEESAAR:I thought definitely having such a big presence on our guards, like we barely have to do anything as bigs on the ball screen and just flies through it. He's so handsy. He kind of makes those plays, and then on offense he runs like -- we have so many more transition points just because of him running and like fast break points, lay-ups. I think he had four points in doubles today, and those are huge for us because they're huge momentum plays.
Advertisement
Jarin (Stevenson) came off the bench but still played 27 minutes. How much versatility does he give you, especially as a backup 5, which we haven't seen a ton of before tonight?
Dec 20, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Jarin Stevenson (15) celebrates after a victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
CALEB WILSON:He gives us tremendous versatility. He's a great player, and he came up with that last steal to give us the ball back later in the game. He's just going to do everything it takes to win. That's why you love to have a guy like that on your team.
Why is your transition game so much better with Seth (Trimble) out there? What does he do to make it go?
HENRI VEESAAR: I think he just plays with effort, but he's a freak athlete. He's the fastest guy on the team. He has the biggest vert on the team, so the way he runs the floor, there's not many guys that keep up with him.
Advertisement
When Ohio State calls timeout with 44 seconds left, what were you guys watching for?
CALEB WILSON:We kind of knew it was going to be -- we either thought it was going to Bruce or it was just going to be a tougher shot. We really knew we were going to get hand, a good contest on the shot. It was all about boxing out and making sure you finished the play. It's no worse than we do in practice all the time and worse than getting a tip up, tip in later in the game where you play defense and then you got to get a second-chance opportunity.
So we just focused on making sure we boxed out and communicated throughout the play.
Before today what does Jarin Stevenson give you as a 5 that you guys need?
CALEB WILSON:He just gives us rebounding with the lineup with me and Jarin, we're just gunners, like we're just running as hard as we can. We're trying to create advantages just knowing we're quicker than most 5 men that we'll play against. He just gives us an -- well, both of us give us an added sense of versatility, especially in transition.
Advertisement
HENRI VEESAAR: I feel like I can add one thing. I feel like him just being able to switch as well as he can at his size and being able to still rebound and block shots makes a huge difference for us, because I think the floor spacing is great with him when he gets in they're both together. Because they're both really good athletes, but the other part is we can switch and give a different look for the opponents.
Henri Veesaar on Seth Trimble's ability to make threes during the game…
HENRI VEESAAR:No, for sure to see Seth make those shots means a lot. Just being able to know -- because like over the summer we were all the time working in the gym together and shooting, and like just I feel like all of us told him every time, anybody goes under, wherever he is, he's got to shoot it.
There can't be any confidence issues or anything. Just every time everybody believes in him to make it, and today he showed his shooting those threes were huge momentum boosts for us any time he made those.
Advertisement
What has the defense done so far?
Dec 20, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels center Henri Veesaar (13) boxes out Ohio State Buckeyes forward Brandon Noel (14) in the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
(Brett Davis, Brett Davis-Imagn Images)
HENRI VEESAAR:Yeah, I feel like we're a very connected team on the defensive end. Like we talk, we communicate, everybody does their job. I feel like the best part of it is we still have a whole bunch to improve. I feel like we don't feel like we're yet as good a defensive team as maybe the numbers show because I feel like we still make a lot of mistake.
Every game I feel like we can go back and watch and there's like 16, 18, 20 points that we can easily take away not making mistakes.
Caleb, in the first half you were making an impact on the glass and in a lot of areas, but you finished with only two points. What was going on there?
CALEB WILSON:I had four. I mean, I was just trying to let the game come to me. I knew playing against Ohio State, especially at home, that they were going to be focused on me, so I am not going to try to force shots and not trust my teammates.
Advertisement
I'm just going to get my teammates open, try to get assists, try to affect the game whatever it needs to be done. Whatever it takes to win honestly. I mean, the second half I was able to do more offensively with scoring and stuff like that, but I'm not on a team where it is just me and I know that. Got Henri, got Seth, got a bunch of great players so I'm not going to try to force it for sure.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: Caleb Wilson, Henri Veesaar talk about win
