Caleb Wilson's whining is nearly as annoying as ESPN's hyperfixation on him

Duke was the higher-ranked team. Cameron Boozer was the higher-rated recruit. Jon Scheyer had the better head coaching record. The Blue Devils were simply better than the Tar Heels.

Despite all of that, as tip-off between the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils and the No. 14 North Carolina Tar Heels, the ESPN cast and crew couldn't stop hyping up the Heels and their best freshman, Caleb Wilson.

Apparently, ESPN had forgotten about the facts that Boozer was the No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2025 and had averaged better stats than Wilson in nearly every category over the first 22 games of the season.

Jon Scheyer didn't want Caleb Wilson, it's that simple

During ESPN's College GameDay, it got even worse as the morning show featured a story on Wilson, including his complaint that the Blue Devils stopped talking to him or truly recruiting him after extending him an offer.

Maybe, just maybe, it had something to do with the fact that Boozer was the higher-rated prospect and was almost always a guaranteed Blue Devil, his father having played for Duke a few decades earlier.

Wilson was the No. 8 prospect in the two freshmen's class, so he was far from a bad player in high school. However, it sure sounds like Duke head coach Jon Scheyer was more than happy to "settle" for Boozer instead of putting in the continued effort for the lower-rated Wilson.

Wilson couldn't keep the Blue Devils off of his mind or out of his mouth leading up to the rivalry game, continuously talking trash about Duke and digging a bigger hole for himself as the matchup flew into focus.

Between ESPN's bizarre hyperfixation on Wilson and the young Tar Heel's incessant complaining, the Blue Devils were more than ready for tip-off in Chapel Hill, and it shouldn't come as a surprise if Duke blows past North Carolina in the rivals' first meeting of the regular season.