Seth Trimble is already something of an anomaly, having spent all four years at the same school in an era when many players use their four- or five-year college careers to play at two or more programs. He’s also the outlier on this roster because he is the only player who has logged significant minutes in one of the greatest rivalries in sports — the Carolina-Duke game.
Not only has Trimble been educating his teammates as UNC on its showdown with archrival Duke on Saturday, especially when 10 of them are new to the program
Even during the offseason, Carolina’s rivalry with Duke was used as a recruiting pitch when Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis along with Trimble began building the roster in the offseason as Trimble took on the role of recruiter. He attended several dinners and spoke with transfer portal targets, trying to lure them to Chapel Hill.
“It was definitely part of the pitch,” Trimble said on Thursday, two days before the game. “And when that’s part of the pitch, and you’re a player being recruited by North Carolina, it’s really hard not to be attracted by that. It definitely got brought up.”
This is Trimble’s first season as the primary voice responsible for reminding his teammates what happened a year ago, when the Tar Heels dropped all three meetings to Duke — twice in the regular season and again in the ACC Tournament semifinals. “I’m doing a pretty good job of letting guys know how much tension there is during this matchup, what the stakes are, the history, how they beat us three times last year, how much it means to this university — to former players and to everybody that represents North Carolina,” Trimble said.
Saturday will mark Trimble’s eighth career meeting with Duke, and the series has not been kind to him: he’s just 2-5 against the Blue Devils. Both of those wins came in the 2023-24 season when Carolina beat Duke both times. That background is fueling a more vocal, veteran approach from him this week. Trimble believes that the more insight he shares from his own trips through this rivalry, the more prepared his teammates will be when they take the floor Saturday night.
“Knowing everything that goes into this matchup and then knowing that the jersey they’re representing now, that same jersey lost three times last year,” Trimble said. “They’re gonna be super excited just to put themselves into the history books in the best way possible. Guys are very excited for this game.”
North Carolina and Duke will tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET, with the game broadcast on ESPN.
