Seth Trimble embraces leadership role for upcoming UNC men’s basketball season

As Seth Trimble took the podium Wednesday, sitting down to address the media for the first time as a senior, a reporter called him a “rare familiar face” at the Dean Dome.

The veteran guard smiled, retorting: “Yeah, about the only one, huh?”

The Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, native knows it’s rare for a player, especially in this era of college sports, to stay in one place for four years. After his sophomore year, Trimble entered the portal himself before deciding to return to the UNC men’s basketball program for his junior campaign. Once again, after last season, Trimble took a step back for a few weeks. And, yet again, Trimble was “literally” not able to leave.

“This university means everything to me… I’ve just been able to grow as a man,” Trimble said Wednesday, the emotion evident in his voice. “I mean, forget basketball, the young man I became here, the lessons I’ve learned, all the experience I’ve been able to have, the connections I’ve built — you can’t get all these things anywhere else.”

Before he leaves, though, Trimble faces arguably his biggest challenge yet: leading a team of 11 new players as the sole returning starter. The veteran. The voice of the team. When asked about his role Wednesday, Trimble repeated the question back: “my role?” He took a deep breath. A sigh followed.

Finally, he could say these words: “just being that guy.”

“For him to stay at one institution is not normal, and his leadership has been off the chart this summer,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said earlier this month, “not only verbally, but also just the way that he has led on the court in regards to extra workouts, conditioning, drill work, practice.

It feels really good to have Seth be our leader of our team, and I’m so thankful that he’s here.”

‘I was fighting’

Trimble will be the first to say how much UNC basketball has given him. It’s demanded plenty in return.

“I’m not the six-nine, five-star kid who doesn’t need to do much,” Trimble told the N&O. “You know, I’m a six-three guard. I’m super physical. I’m a grimy player and I’m a player who has to do it all to get to that next level.

So to learn, to grow and fail here, I think is going to build me so much more success than running somewhere else and only seeing the sun.”

Take last season, for instance.

Trimble suffered a concussion during a Dec. 24 practice and missed three games. When he returned, he never felt he got his flow back for the remainder of the season. He had good games. He had bad games.

His inconsistency nagged him the most.

“I was fighting, fighting, fighting,” Trimble said Wednesday. “I honestly think that was part of the problem, because I was trying so hard just to get it back, not just let it flow.”

The concussion threw off everything — his rhythm, feel, vision and processing. His post-injury stats, which he’s well aware of, reflected it: Trimble’s scoring, shooting, rebounding and assist rates all dropped. Turnovers dipped, too, but Trimble would probably shrug that off.

Trimble is hard on himself and his teammates, a fact made clear throughout last year. After a November loss to Auburn, he told reporters on-site in Hawaii he was “really bothered” by the team’s performance and what he saw as a lack of pride. Following a January loss to Stanford, in which Jaylen Blakes hit a game-winner over Trimble, the then-junior repeated the need to “do better” in postgame interviews. Over and over. When UNC lost in blowout fashion at Duke in February, Trimble was, of course, the Tar Heel who offered the bluntest assessment: “they whupped us.”

In addition to honing his off-the-dribble shooting and other on-ball skills, Trimble’s been working with a mental coach this offseason to implement “tricks and tools” to counter “bad thoughts,” he said Wednesday.

But if you ask Trimble’s teammates, the standard he holds himself and the team to is still as high as ever.

That’s a trick for which Trimble needs no training.

‘You can’t let him down’

Arizona transfer Henri Veesaar said that, on slow days in the gym, Trimble is the first to start clapping. The senior will speak up if he has to.

Guys we can’t do this. We can’t get loose. We have to stay focused and keep pushing.

“He’s really good at it where he’s also bringing his energy levels,” Veesaar said. “He kind of just rubs off on everybody. You want to be better. Because if you see him doing it, you can’t let him down.”

Veesaar said he and Trimble have built a strong connection over the summer. Adjusting to each other’s games — especially on the pick and roll — took time. But now, Veesaar knows just how Trimble likes to attack.

Fellow transfer Kyan Evans said, when he entered the portal this offseason, Trimble was “really intriguing” to him — not just as a player, but as a leader.

“You want to really surround yourself around other good players that you feel you can connect with and get better from,” Evans said last week. “So for sure, I think I just came here and seen him and envisioned the backcourt with us being extremely good.”

Trimble played a role in recruiting both. Similar to Armando Bacot, the senior guard has been an “ambassador” for the UNC program this offseason, said Davis.

That means lots of dinners during the transfer portal window. But Trimble doesn’t mind. Certainly not the free food, or the additions like Jarin Stevenson who will ensure Trimble doesn’t have to guard 6-10, 240 pound players, as he joked Wednesday.

Trimble played both the recruiter and glue guy this summer. Even the ever-critical guard would admit that effort has paid off so far. Trimble said the team gelled “super, super quick.” It took just 14 days, maybe even 10, he estimated.

“I think we’ll be a much different team than the team I was on previously this past year — in good ways, of course,” Trimble said. “That is very exciting, very hopeful… so yeah, there is that fun aspect of it.”

But perhaps the most exciting thing for Trimble is the chance, at last, to fully show everyone the young man UNC has helped shape.

Or maybe, more accurately, it’s a reminder of who he’s always been.

“In high school, I was always the guy who pushed my teammates,” Trimble said. “I was always the guy who got on my teammates when needed, who carried my teammates when needed, who held them up. And that’s just who I want to continue to be. It helps people. It allows people to grow when there’s that leadership and I think I’m capable of doing it.

So I mean it’s nothing new, no new surprises… I’m just continuing to embrace it.”

This story was originally published September 17, 2025 at 5:30 PM.