Caleb Wilson will have to choose between Kentucky and UNC after the Lakers/Celtics game

Mark Pope and the Kentucky coaching staff are in a 1v1 recruiting battle with North Carolina to try to land five-star power forward Caleb Wilson. It was Kentucky’s game to lose for a while, but North Carolina makes a massive push in the NIL front and puts the Tar Heels in front.

It’s been known for a few days now that Wilson will commit sometime today (Thursday, January 23), but now the time is known. Joe Tipton of On3 announced this morning on social media that Wilson will commit live on NBA on TNT following the conclusion of the Lakers-Celtics game, which is set to tip off at 10:00 PM ET.

This means that Wilson’s commitment will most likely happen sometime between 12:30 and 1:30, so fans of both schools will wake up to the news of where Wilson has committed.

Wilson will likely choose North Carolina, and if this happens, Big Blue Nation need not panic about Coach Pope as a recruiter. The Tar Heels threw everything but the kitchen sink at Wilson when it comes to the NIL, which would make it really hard for him to turn it down.

Kentucky already has an elite class with three top 35 players in Jasper Johnson, Acaden Lewis and Malachi Moreno.

If Wilson chooses UNC, Kentucky could make a last-second push on five-star PF Nate Ament. The Wildcats aren’t close in this game, but they can make a push and see what happens.