CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Amid the dejected locker room following North Carolina’s season-ending loss to Alabama in the NCAA Tournament, guard Seth Trimble attempted to hold back tears, wiping them away with tissues as he met with reporters.
“Everybody wanted last year to be done,” he said that night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, after the Tar Heels fell 89-87 in the Sweet 16. “And now, nobody wanted this year to end. It says a lot.
“Heartbreak, it’s the last time this group plays together. … We really jelled this year. We really became Carolina basketball again. You know, we set the standard for these next couple of years, but sad this group will never get to play again.”
And that will be his last Tar Heel team. Trimble announced on Tuesday that he is entering the NCAA transfer portal, leaving Chapel Hill after two seasons. He met with Hubert Davis multiple times for postseason meetings in the last week, according to sources close to the situation. “… I feel this is the best step for me moving forward,” Trimble said in a social media statement. “Tar Heel family, I will love you for the rest of my life.”
In his second season at Carolina, the high-flyer appeared in 35 games and made one start in November against Northern Iowa. He was the Tar Heels’ most consistent contributor off the bench, serving as a steady sixth man, trusted defender on the perimeter, and valuable energy source for coach Hubert Davis to call on.Trimble averaged 5.2 points per game this season, up nearly 3½ points from his freshman year. He knocked down 41.9 percent of his limited 3-point attempts, connecting on 13 successful shots from beyond the arc. He set a career-high in scoring with 12 points in a defeat of Arkansas in late November, knocking down both of his 3-point tries in that game. He went on to match that scoring mark in a blowout of Charleston Southern and later a sprint past Florida State in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.
Trimble scored in double digits six times — once last season as a freshman — and contributed nine points in two other games. He connected on both of his 3-point attempts and had eight points off the UNC bench during the Tar Heels’ season-ending loss to Alabama.
In the ACC Tournament dismantling of Florida State, Trimble capped his career day in Washington with a soaring, right-handed dunk down the middle of the lane midway through the second half. It was the first game Trimble finished in double figures scoring since missing back-to-back games in early February due to a concussion. Prior to his brief absence, Trimble provided a key spark with 10 points in UNC’s victory at home against rival Duke.
“He’s attacking the basket and using his athleticism to be able to finish defensively because of his ability to be able to eat up the ball,” Davis said of Trimble on March 14 after the ACC Tournament opener. “I thought that was really impactful and huge for us. So I agree with you, he’s back at that level where he was playing since that first Duke game, and it’s much needed. That type of energy and effort coming off the bench, that’s a huge benefit for us.”
In UNC’s Sweet 16 loss to Alabama, Trimble logged 11 minutes, tying a season low in playing time from the Tar Heels’ loss at Syracuse — his first game back from the injury — and the season-opening win over Radford. Trimble hit two 3-pointers against the high-scoring Crimson Tide, supplying eight points off the bench during the first half. But he played just four minutes in the second half, and took one shot.
