Doesn’t Seth Trimble, undoubtedly the UNC men’s basketball team’s defensive ace, scream everything it means to be a Tar Heel?
Though Trimble has only three starts over the past two seasons, he’s never complained once about his role off the bench. Trimble loves North Carolina so much, he even decided to withdraw his name from the transfer portal earlier this offseason and return for his junior year.
Trimble’s role increased significantly last season, as his minutes nearly doubled (9.7 to 17.1 minutes per game) and he set career highs in points (5.2) and rebounds (2.1) per game.
On Thursday at the ACC Tipoff event in Charlotte, N.C., Trimble spent a few minutes talking about his evolution and expectations for an even greater role this coming season, a role which is expected to include additional leadership on a younger team.
“To me, to step into a role of being a much bigger leader than I was last year and just to play a more complete game this year,” Trimble said during UNC’s ACC Tipoff press conference. “To play my game, that’s one thing that me and Coach Davis discuss all the time, is just to do me, play free, play whatever it is. I think the biggest thing I have to do this year is lead. RJ is our guy, is our leader the one we look up to. But he can’t be the only one. If he’s the only one this year won’t go well. So I really gotta step into that role.”
I witnessed a bunch of great leadership from Trimble on the court last season. When RJ Davis went out and took a breather, or when Cormac Ryan, Armando Bacot or Harrison Ingram took a breather, Trimble stood out. He acted as North Carolina’s unofficial Sixth Man, pointed where his teammates needed to be on defensive assignments and was always one of the first to celebrate a big play.
Trimble loves the Tar Heels and the Tar Heels love Trimble. We’re extremely grateful for at least one more season with the pride of Menomonee Falls.
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