Which UNC player would you most hate to play in a pickup game?

GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 19: Caleb Wilson #8 of the North Carolina Tar Heels react to a play while on the bench during the first half against the VCU Rams in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 19, 2026 in Greenville, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) | Getty Images

As Caleb Wilson finishes is way-too-short time as member of the University of North Carolina basketball team, he said good-bye to campus this week in an epic way.

There are a lot of things wrong with college sports in general right now, but one of the things that’s still right is these shining stars are members of the campus community, and at any time one of them could just walk onto a court and play against a group of students working off some steam. All of a sudden you get a chance to go up against a future NBA star and have a story that you can tell others that will pass down the generations.

This brings up a question: say you were in this situation where you were playing pick up, which UNC player would you look at coming on the court and just dread the next few minutes of your life?

So yes, we all know the answer is Michael Jordan. By the way, that answer is still applicable today, because his famous intensity and desire to win no matter the cost means that when you get over the “holy bleep I’m playing with Michael Jordan” feeling, you will undoubtedly shift to “holy bleep I’m playing Michael Jordan.”

Let’s throw His Airness out of the question; who else from Carolina’s history would you not feel good about playing? The fun part of having such a deep history of talent is that you can start pulling up all sorts of names and all of them would make you feel like you were about to get your shorts handed to you. James Worthy in his heyday would have ruled Woolen Gym. Think Caleb Wilson enjoys dunking? What would it have been like when Vince Carter walked out there and said he had next? The same psycho energy that Jordan had manifested itself inside Tyler Hansbrough. You know when he plays you’re probably getting an elbow in the chest and at some point he’s going to make it look ugly.