LAS VEGAS — Darryn Peterson went down quickly.
In only the second game of North Carolina’s regular season last November, the Tar Heels and Caleb Wilson sent Peterson — the eventual No. 2 overall pick — back to Lawrence, Kansas, with an 87-74 victory against the Jayhawks.
Wilson, the eventual No. 4 overall pick by the Bulls, scored 24 points, grabbed seven rebounds and added four steals. Peterson scored a solid 22 points but still lost.
Then came two showdowns against Duke and eventual No. 3 overall pick Cameron Boozer. But Wilson was only available for one, thanks to a broken right thumb that ended his season early.
North Carolina won that meeting 71-68, with Wilson scoring 23 points and shooting 8-for-12 from the field. Boozer had 24 points and 11 rebounds, but the Blue Devils suffered their first ACC loss.
The one game that went under the radar, however, was a preseason exhibition that featured eventual No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa and Wilson. While BYU defeated the Tar Heels, Wilson outplayed Dybantsa, finishing with 22 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Dybantsa had 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Meaningless college stats now that all four players are in the NBA? Don’t try selling Wilson on that because he isn’t buying.
Wilson isn’t your typical 19-year-old, wide-eyed rookie. He’s definitely not the typical player the Bulls have selected in recent years. That has been clear during the last year, and it was again in his franchise-record 35-point Summer League debut Friday in a 97-96 loss to Boozer and the Grizzlies.
Even before his first college game last season, Wilson said he was making a list of competitors who had done him wrong in his estimation. That included several players he felt froze him out in the McDonald’s High School All-American Game.
‘‘I’m just going to keep going out there and killing people,’’ he told a reporter after that game. ‘‘I got the list on my phone, and it’s nowhere near done.’’
The list remains there — updated, of course — and Wilson hasn’t been shy about who tops it: all three players who were selected before him in the draft last month.
‘‘You know what happened when I played them, so I don’t really care about the media,’’ Wilson said when he was asked recently about where he ended up in the draft order. ‘‘I’m a competitor, and I get to play them in Summer League, too. So whatever needs to be done to prove I’m on the same level . . . but I’m better.’’
The NBA did him that favor, scheduling the game Friday against Boozer and the Grizzlies, another Monday against Peterson the Jazz, then one Tuesday against Dybantsa and the Wizards — all of them prime-time games and played on the big stage at the Thomas & Mack Center.
It’s a chance for Wilson to make an early statement as the changing of the Bulls’ guard continues.
Give Wilson and Boozer credit because they understood the assignment. In addition to his 35 points, Wilson quieted critics of his outside shooting by going 7-for-11 from three-point range. Boozer, meanwhile, scored 23 points and came away with the victory.
‘‘Yes, I scored a lot, but we still didn’t win, so I don’t really care,’’ Wilson said afterward. ‘‘[Boozer] is a great player, honestly, one of the few guys I respect out of my class. He played a great game, and he won. We’ll learn from this and get better.’’
Even before Wilson, guard Dailyn Swain and forward Noa Essengue stepped on the floor to face the Grizzlies, the Bulls made two key additions official.
The team filled its vacancy in the middle by announcing the trade that was reported two weeks ago, acquiring center Nic Claxton in a four-team deal that included the Nets, Hornets and Timberwolves. The Bulls exercised their option on forward Mouhamadou Gueye and sent him to the Hornets as a part of the deal.
The Bulls hope the 6-11 Claxton can return to the ultra-athletic rim protector/rim runner he was a few seasons ago before back issues seemingly grounded him. If he can do that, that would give the Bulls a frontcourt of Matas Buzelis, Wilson and Claxton. That’s not exactly a fun group to try to score on.
The Bulls also made official their two-year, $45 million free-agent signing of guard Norman Powell, with the second year being a team option. That’s significant for several reasons, with the first being the most obvious. The Bulls lost a lot of outside shooting in their roster purge in February, and Powell — fresh off an All-Star season with the Heat — should help in that department.
Off the court, Powell has a reputation as a no-nonsense veteran who understands the ups and downs of an NBA season. The young Bulls core needs that sort of player in the locker room, and Powell, 33, is made for that role at this point of his career.