CHAPEL HILL — UNC basketball got its first glimpse of life without Seth Trimble on Veterans Day.
Sidelined with a cast on his left forearm as the Tar Heels earned an 89-74 win against Radford on Nov. 11, Trimble was all smiles as he watched eight of the team’s 11 newcomers get at least 10 minutes on Roy Williams Court. Despite Trimble’s injury, UNC coach Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels are focusing on the positives.
“I think it’s very valuable for those guys. One of the things I always say is: I don’t know where, when, how, the manner in which you’re gonna get an opportunity. But when it happens, your job and responsibility is to be ready when your number is called,” Davis said during his postgame press conference.“Obviously, we’re sad that Seth isn’t able to play right now. But it is a wonderful opportunity for a number of guys that’ll get extended minutes and help us with our depth moving forward.” It was an uneven start for the Trimble-less Tar Heels (3-0), who are No. 20 in the USA TODAY coaches poll and 18th in the AP poll after a win against then-No. 19 Kansas.
Jarin Stevenson rolled his right ankle in the first two minutes, Caleb Wilson had three fouls in the first half, and UNC was tied with Radford at 22 with under eight minutes left until halftime.
“It caused us to play some different lineups that either, one, we hadn’t played thus far or, two, haven’t played extended minutes,” Davis said.
“I think that contributed to us not being in rhythm. I felt like in the latter part of the first half, we started to find that rhythm. I felt like we continued that, pretty much the second half. But there were spots that we still struggled in.”
UNC led 44-31 at halftime and stretched its lead to 26 late in the second half, but the Heels didn’t make a shot in the final four minutes. They also were 8 of 31 from 3-point range and missed 18 free throws, going 31 of 49 from the charity stripe. The teams combined for 55 fouls.
“There’s an adjustment period for all of us in trying to find a rhythm with this group, with this team,” Davis said. “We were trying to find it (against Radford) and will continue to get better at it with practice on Thursday in hopes of being a lot better (against N.C. Central).”
But there were still some positive signs of progress. Luka Bogavac, who replaced Trimble in the starting lineup, scored a team-high 19 points to go with five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Bogavac also played a team-high 30 minutes.
“He’s a really great player on both ends of the floor,” Bogavac said of Trimble. “I think, once he comes back, he’ll see the group better than when he left. So, with him, it’ll just get better, for sure.”
UNC’s frontcourt joined Bogavac in double figures. Henri Veesaar had 18 points and seven rebounds, Stevenson added 15 points and seven rebounds, and Wilson logged his first double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
“Some guys are going to get a lot more opportunities. … A lot of people are going to build up their confidence and we’re gonna get our rotation deeper,” Veesaar said.
“When Seth comes back, guys are going to show what they’re capable of.”
As Bogavac and Veesaar pointed out, Trimble’s setback could ultimately be a good thing when Trimble comes back. Davis highlighted the positivity of looking forward to Trimble’s return, saying the senior guard is in good spirits.
“He’s a done a really good job handling this. He understands that he’s gonna be back and he’s gonna be back soon, and that he’s gonna be out there on the court again. Again, going back to reacting and responding, I told him a story,” Davis said.
In Davis’ second year as an NBA player, he felt he was in a “really good spot” with the New York Knicks before he ran into Jon Koncack, a 7-foot center for the Atlanta Hawks, and broke his hand.
“I was out six weeks and I thought it was the worst thing that ever happened to me. The timing was horrible and those six weeks I worked on my left hand,” Davis said.
“When I came back, my left was better than my right and it actually made me a better player. It allowed me to take a step back and be able to see something that I wouldn’t have seen had I been playing. That year, we went to the NBA Finals. So, use this as a positive, even though it’s unfortunate.”
