By R.L. Bynum
BERKELEY, Calif. — Seth Trimble didn’t dance around North Carolina’s problems after Saturday’s 84–78 loss at Cal. He described a group learning in real time how to respond when the plan goes awry, voices get quiet, and the opponents keep making shots.
He rejected any notion of internal drama and said the recent slide comes down to accountability.
“It’s nothing culture-related. It’s nothing team-wise,” Trimble said near the team bus outside Haas Pavilion after No. 14 UNC’s 84–79 loss to California. “There’s no beef with anybody. It’s just putting feelings aside. That’s pretty much. Just manning up, coming to the realization that we’ve got to be some men and start winning some games on the road.”
Trimble framed the stretch as adversity that the best teams endure and survive, and that Carolina has to overcome.
“I think you look at all the great teams the last few years,” he said, “they don’t succeed in March without facing adversity in these times. I’m not worried about it. I know it’s just a bump in the road.”
The second half in Berkeley was where he saw the shift and the kind of energy the Tar Heels need to have for an entire game to change the trajectory of the season.
“We were fighting to get something from the team,” Trimble said. “And that second half, the way we closed, the way we came back. That was definitely a step in the right direction.”
As the Tar Heels’ best defensive player, the issues on that end obviously weighed on him even more, particularly the continued success of opponents from 3-point range.
There has been plenty of talk about the coaching staff not making the necessary changes to turn around the defensive slump, but Trimble said it was more about effort.
“We stopped playing like some boys and sat down in our stance and started guarding like we know we can guard,” Trimble said. “I don’t know why we’ve been so bad defensively, because we know that’s not the defensive team we are. We showed it.”
Trimble said the message from Coach Hubert Davis at halftime was blunt, and the players also had their say.
“Coach Davis had a message. I had a message. All the guys [did],” Trimble said. “We were all talking in the locker room, and it was basically just to let go of all outside noise, whatever fans have to say, whatever your expectations of yourself are, whatever it is.”
Trimble is well aware of the recent tenor of comments from UNC fans on social media and said he tries to ignore them. But he admitted that it’s tough.
“It hasn’t been pretty,” Trimble said. “I think I’m able to do a good job of kind of blowing it off. I think the one thing I let it do is I let it piss me off. But I see that as a good thing, but I can’t speak for other guys.”
Trimble said that it’s just part of being a Carolina basketball player.
“Fans love us when we win, and they hate us when we lose. We love them. But at the end of the day …” Trimble said, trailing off before circling back to the group’s resolve.
Trimble pointed to the standard that comes with the jersey and the everyday grind of absorbing opponents’ best shots.
“I told guys how hard it is to play guys’ best shot every night. It’s going to be a war, and it’s going to be a battle,” he said. “And one thing that we have to do day in and day out is carry this with us and wear [the UNC uniform] like no other. Because there are so many people in this world and they dream of wearing it. We just got to continue to realize how special this is.”
If the rest of the team can adopt the same attitude, UNC can change the season’s trajectory.
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
tarheeltribune.com 