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#UNC players Seth Trimble, Henri Veesaar and Caleb Wilson after win over Central Arkansas
Nov 4, 2025
#UNC players Seth Trimble, Henri Veesaar and Caleb Wilson after win over Central Arkansas
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0:00
really good team win. It was a great way
0:01
to start the season off. I feel like uh
0:04
you know, we we really learned from our
0:06
exhibition games last our last two games
0:08
and uh we really came out the gate and
0:10
and stayed strong throughout the whole
0:11
game this game. So, really good.
0:13
When did you find out Luca was going to
0:14
play?
0:15
Uh after like this the first time we
0:18
went into locker room, we saw he was
0:19
dressed, so we all just bombarded him a
0:21
little bit, you know, gave him a good
0:22
time, but we were super happy to see him
0:24
suited up.
0:24
In the two exhibition games, he was out
0:25
there with you guys just bumping and
0:27
stuff like that. kind of noticed he
0:28
wasn't out there. And
0:30
any thoughts about like what that's like
0:32
not knowing and he's
0:34
I didn't think none of it. I mean, he
0:35
was like taking a little catnap uh when
0:37
we walked out. He was just resting his
0:39
eyes. We thought it was just that, you
0:40
know, he's resting his eyes would come
0:42
out when it's time, but I guess I think
0:44
he got like woken up out of his sleep or
0:45
something like that and told it was
0:46
clear. So,
0:47
we saw a lot of different stuff from him
0:48
tonight. You know, a lot of people say,
0:50
"Oh, he's just a jump shooter." But you
0:51
saw a lot more than that tonight.
0:53
Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Abs. I mean, he
0:54
has that European play style that you
0:56
think about. He can uh he can really do
0:58
it all. You know, he's a great creator
0:59
for his teammates. Uh and I mean, we all
1:01
know he's a great jumper. So, he has
1:03
more than just that aspect to his game.
1:04
Quick turn around before you guys have
1:06
this this next big matchup. How do games
1:08
like this help prepare y'all for for can
1:10
a team like Kansas?
1:11
They give you a groove. They give guys
1:12
confidence. Uh they allow you just to
1:13
get going as a team. So, I'm glad we got
1:15
to get a game like this before we play a
1:17
powerhouse like Kansas. But, I mean,
1:19
that's going to be a really exciting
1:19
game Friday. But, you know, we're in the
1:21
gym every day up until then. Uh and
1:23
we'll prepare hard. I I know this was
1:25
just, you know, the opponent tonight is
1:27
relative to everything, but you've been
1:29
on a lot of these teams and seen teams
1:32
struggle early, like UNCC teams struggle
1:33
early. Like tonight, did it feel
1:35
different? Like, do you think you could
1:36
take away something like, hey, maybe we
1:37
are like that that team, like we can do
1:40
this?
1:40
Absolutely. Absolutely. I I mean, uh, he
1:43
was there. Uh, I think you were there,
1:44
but I said it after the BYU game. Uh,
1:47
that we're going to be a team like that.
1:48
Uh, we're going to be a powerhouse and
1:50
we're going to be really good. And I
1:51
think we'll just continue to show, you
1:53
know, we're going to go through learning
1:54
mistakes. Uh we're going to lose some
1:56
games here and throughout the year. Uh
1:58
but it's going to build us to to become
2:00
the the strong team that I know that
2:02
will be.
2:02
And do you put the emphasis to knowing
2:04
how in December you guys have come to
2:06
short and then it burns you later. You
2:08
Kansas coming in on Friday. Does that
2:09
kind of sink in with you guys?
2:11
Absolutely. I mean, I didn't want to
2:12
look past this uh this game. So the
2:14
second we practice tomorrow, I'll make
2:15
sure it's emphasized to my teammates.
2:17
Uh, I know coach will emphasize it how
2:18
important these games are and especially
2:20
how important it is to protect our home
2:21
floor.
2:22
How how different is the ball movement
2:24
this year compared to last season?
2:26
Uh, it's a lot different. I mean, I
2:27
think you see it. It's it's completely
2:29
different. I mean, we had 23 assists
2:31
tonight and to have 23 assists first
2:32
game of the year just shows how
2:34
unselfish guys are. You know, there's
2:36
not that any personal agendas on the
2:38
team and and we're just playing the hot
2:41
hand. You know, who's going that night
2:42
is going to be who's going, you know. So
2:44
is the difference the talent, the
2:46
approach, the mindset. What how is it
2:49
how is this manifest?
2:51
I mean I think all of it plays into it
2:52
like you said talent approach and
2:54
mindset. I think we've taken a step up
2:56
in each and every way and I think I mean
2:58
you see that on the court.
2:59
Ken's got a lot of his plate with you
3:01
guys. A little bit more responsibility I
3:03
think on the ball than he had at
3:04
Colorado State. It looked like we saw a
3:07
little progress there tonight. A lot
3:08
more comfort. A little bit more
3:09
connected by him. How how do you measure
3:11
his progress and the fact that you guys
3:13
are going to need him at some point to
3:15
be fully in sync?
3:16
Yeah, I mean uh me and Kai, we've been
3:19
tough on each other. He's been toughing
3:20
himself. I've been tough himself on
3:22
myself the last few days just cuz we
3:24
know that we can play so much better
3:25
than how we played versus BYU and versus
3:28
Salem State. So, just to see him bounce
3:30
back, have a comfortable game like that,
3:32
you know, get going. Uh super good to
3:34
see. But, I mean, I know we all know how
3:36
huge K will be for this team. uh we know
3:38
that we need him to be part of our motor
3:40
and uh it's good to see him get going.
3:42
Just being able to see him in a uniform
3:44
and like seeing him smile cuz I know
3:45
he's not he was been frustrated for the
3:47
past two weeks cuz we had been able to
3:48
play. He hasn't and like that's hard on
3:51
him.
3:51
And what did you see from him? What did
3:52
you see in his game?
3:54
Uh I he plays really good. He's plays at
3:56
his own pace. Uh he's a he can get but
3:59
off the pick and roll he's really good
4:00
cuz he will like kind of stop hesy play
4:02
with the big mess with the guards and
4:04
like he's a willing passer. So when he
4:06
kicks it out, he creates open long
4:08
closes or open shots. And same way for
4:09
the bigs, he can give you a great pass.
4:12
Seems like he just adds another great
4:14
passer. You and Caleb are good passers.
4:16
He's a good passer. Obviously Kayen,
4:18
just just talk about the ball movement
4:20
that you guys are getting. The ball
4:21
doesn't stick.
4:22
Yeah, definitely. That's very important
4:25
cuz once you stick like during an
4:27
offense, you're trying to build
4:28
advantages and maybe hitting one good
4:30
screen, you get like 0.2 seconds off it,
4:32
then somebody makes a good pass, it's
4:33
another 0.2. Sure, you're trying to
4:34
build up like a second or second and a
4:36
half to get an open shot, easy through
4:38
long close out that you can drive and
4:39
really use. So having the balls not
4:41
stick is really good cuz every time it
4:43
sticks, you empty it out again and then
4:44
you have to start from zero with less on
4:46
the shot clock.
4:47
Henry, how much of a Spartan Luca give
4:49
you obviously when he came onto the
4:50
sideline before you came in the game,
4:52
crowd goes crazy, everything like that.
4:54
You seem like you guys kind of, you
4:55
know, played well after that. How much
4:57
of
4:57
No, man. Just seeing him there like it
4:59
made us all happy cuz we know how hard
5:01
he's worked all summer and like just
5:02
trying to all this stuff and like the
5:04
outside stuff kind of pressure getting
5:05
to him. We can know he's been frustrated
5:07
cuz everybody else has been able to play
5:08
and he hasn't. So just seeing him be
5:11
able there and smile at is really happy.
5:13
Everybody was so happy for him.
5:15
How did you find Oh god.
5:18
He was dunking pretty much everything he
5:20
had. Um, obviously you know you know
5:22
he's a athletic guy know practice you
5:24
know he likes to kind of do but what did
5:25
you make of you know his performance his
5:27
activity obviously his you know
5:28
highlight plays I mean he's a freak
5:31
athlete we all know that just seeing the
5:33
way he runs the floor and the way kind
5:35
of he sees open spaces and we have
5:37
really good passes were able to find him
5:38
and that way he got monster dunks and
5:40
really good pass himself just seeing the
5:42
way he played today and kind of gives a
5:44
spark with all the highlights cuz you
5:46
maybe have a dual moment and that like
5:47
fires all of us up and it's a big time
5:49
Was there a little more uh just freedom
5:52
in the playbook tonight? I know you
5:53
mentioned, you know, limiting the sets
5:54
you were allowed to show in the inter
5:56
squad scrimmages, but it seemed like
5:57
there was more big to big passing
5:58
between you and Caleb tonight. You think
6:00
that's something we're going to see more
6:01
going forward?
6:02
Uh for sure that we always look
6:03
different for each other because we know
6:05
it's a good option and we can get points
6:06
in the paint and that's very efficient.
6:08
But yeah, I would say that today they're
6:10
also switching one to five. So we always
6:12
knew that we had a small on us. So we
6:14
were just looking to use the mismatch
6:16
whatever they gave us either when it's
6:18
like a gu big guarding a guard or a
6:20
guard guarding a big it's a easy high
6:22
low pass cuz they can we can just throw
6:23
it over top.
6:24
When did you find out that Luca was
6:26
going to be able to play you early
6:28
warm-ups warm-ups and he wasn't there.
6:30
Did you find out when you came back to
6:31
the dressing room after that? Where did
6:33
you find out
6:33
for that one right now? No comment.
6:36
That's all.
6:37
It might be a question for somebody
6:39
else. No comment for me right now. We're
6:41
just really happy for him to do that.
6:43
I don't know if you've been asked about
6:44
Ky specifically already, but obviously
6:46
spotting Caleb for the lobs, finding you
6:48
for some dunks as well. What did you
6:49
think about his ability to kind of move
6:51
the ball around, get you guys?
6:52
Yeah, he's really impressive with that
6:54
way like his ball handling and the way
6:55
he stays on balance all the time. And
6:58
just seeing him kind of move the ball
7:00
and make like, like I said before, like
7:01
hockey assists that way like he will
7:03
make a pass that gives a little
7:05
advantage and then somebody else can
7:06
make the assist. And just the way he
7:08
gets us all moving, organized is really
7:09
impressive. The way he played asking you
7:12
how much um like specifically on Luke on
7:14
like his situation, but him as a player,
7:16
you know,
7:17
also kind of like a innocent,
7:19
how has that kind of shaped you? The
7:21
fact that you weren't always, you know,
7:22
some of these guys have always been
7:23
ranked highly and highly touted. So, how
7:26
does how has that shaped you in your
7:27
work ethic?
7:28
It makes me hungry. Uh it doesn't matter
7:30
what I do, I I always feel like I can do
7:32
better. I don't care if I go out there
7:34
and score 100 points. I'm still going to
7:35
figure figure out something I can do
7:36
better because it doesn't matter after
7:38
it's over.
7:40
What do you see from KIA? I mean, how
7:41
you guys kind of built that chemistry
7:43
early on
7:45
kind of your relationship with him?
7:47
K's a good guard. Like I told everyone,
7:49
it's going to take time. It's going to
7:50
take chemistry for us to become elite
7:52
elite team, elite program. So, you know,
7:55
he played great. He hit some threes. Uh
7:58
G gave me some assists and uh he made
7:59
some great decisions. And so as long as
8:01
we keep trusting each other and keep
8:03
building that chemistry and practicing
8:04
in the games, I feel like it'll be a
8:05
great year for us.
8:06
Yeah, Henry was saying he kind of does
8:08
like a lot of little things like hockey
8:09
assists, stuff that he doesn't really
8:10
get credit for. You kind of feel that
8:12
the way he runs the offense
8:13
for sure. And uh he's a great player. Um
8:17
everybody thinks that stats matter, but
8:19
there's so much things that you can do
8:20
outside of stats on the basketball court
8:22
that influence the game positively for
8:24
your team, and I think he does a lot of
8:25
those things.
8:26
What was the adrenaline like when you
8:27
had the four dunks in the first two or
8:29
three minutes? I was just even kill. Um,
8:32
you know, dunks are two points. So, I'm
8:36
athletic. I've been gifted and, um, I'm
8:38
definitely going to assert myself and
8:39
get on the rim as much as I can, but uh,
8:42
it's just two points and they can come
8:43
down and hit three and they win. So, I
8:45
just keep it, you know, careful.
8:47
On that note, I know you said dunks are
8:48
two points. I asked you last week about
8:50
what dunks like that can give to a team,
8:52
give momentum wise. Sometimes it can
8:54
feel like a big dunk in a certain moment
8:55
can be worth more than two points. What
8:57
can you say about just what you're able
8:58
to do and sort of energize a team based
9:00
on your athleticism?
9:01
I definitely feel like that's possible.
9:02
You know, and I do feel like that's real
9:05
a real thing, but I never get too high
9:07
on myself. I'm always hungry for for
9:09
like to be better. So, I can windmill
9:12
dunk on someone and I'm still going to
9:14
play the game the same way cuz I still
9:15
got to get on the other end and play
9:16
great defense.
9:17
You're not big on post dunk
9:18
celebrations.
9:19
I hear you.
9:20
You know, you're not big on post dunk
9:22
celebrations.
9:23
No, no, no. I'm not really big on
9:24
celebrations at all. College is quick.
9:26
I'm a freshman, so I'm trying to adjust
9:27
to it just as much as anybody else. So,
9:30
like I dunk, I celebrate, they bring it
9:33
up the sideline, three-pointer. I lost.
9:36
So, you don't really There's no re
9:38
there's no reason to celebrate. Like,
9:39
I'm going to get the crowd reaction no
9:40
matter what I do. So, I just play.
9:43
Now, Luke Lucas brings another good
9:46
passer and you have so many good
9:48
passers. you and Henry and Kai and
9:52
you talk about how the ball movement has
9:55
been so good pitch on in the half court
9:57
offense.
9:58
It's been really good. Um I think we've
10:00
limited turnovers and I everybody was
10:03
questioning that when we first got
10:05
together. But you know like I said I
10:06
feel like you know once we learn how to
10:07
play each other and learn how to get the
10:08
ball to each other in places that we
10:10
need to it'll be great. So I feel like
10:11
you know we're just figuring out how to
10:12
play with each other and it's looking
10:13
good.
10:14
Caleb on that point about getting better
10:15
every day and how yeah that's kind of
10:17
your goal and everything. How would you
10:18
even assess this first performance? You
10:20
know, seems like from our our vantage
10:21
point, you're rolling out of bet with 20
10:23
points, but I'm sure you want to keep
10:24
getting better, keep expanding your
10:25
game. Where are you looking to improve
10:26
going forward?
10:27
It's not going to be easy all season. I
10:29
know that like somebody's going to throw
10:31
something different at me. It's only a
10:32
matter of time, and I know conference
10:33
play is extremely hard, and that's what
10:35
matters. So, I'm trying to focus on fine
10:38
tuning everything that I feel like can
10:39
be a problem for me later, dealing with
10:42
physicality or just simple things that I
10:44
know can kind of hinder me. So, Like I
10:48
said, of course I can run and get hit
10:50
get transition dunks and hit hit threes
10:52
and stuff like that, but that's not
10:53
basketball. That's not all it is.
10:55
For sure. The other day I asked you
10:58
about Luca when he came onto the
10:59
sideline, not even before he got into
11:01
the game. Everybody goes crazy and
11:03
obviously you guys played well after
11:05
that moment. I guess kind of obviously
11:07
he did what he did statistically, but
11:08
how much of a I guess kind of a jolt or
11:10
a spark did he give you just being on
11:12
the court with you guys?
11:13
Yeah, Luke is my guy. Uh we we like to
11:15
hang around each other. Uh we we go to
11:18
dinner sometimes and uh Luca, he's he's
11:20
energetic. He's kind of like me and um
11:22
it's just it's just happy to see your
11:24
teammates happy. Like before the game,
11:25
he was kind of sad cuz he didn't know if
11:26
he was going to be able to play. So just
11:28
seeing him happy and energetic and feel
11:30
like I'm excited to be here. That was
11:32
just a great feeling of relief for us as
11:34
a team.
11:34
What did you find out? Because you went
11:36
you went out to early warm-ups and he
11:37
wasn't among you you guys. Did you find
11:40
out when you came back to the dressing
11:41
room?
11:41
Back in the locker room, he was dressed.
11:43
So that's how we found out. After the
11:44
early warm up, you came back in and saw
11:46
him dressed.
11:46
Yeah, it was cool. It was cool.
11:47
Did he say anything? Like, what was his
11:49
reaction? Did he tell you guys anything?
11:50
We just jumped up on him and and hugged
11:52
him and gave him high five and told him
11:53
we was excited for him. But he was he
11:54
was really happy getting stretched and
11:56
doing lower body prep and stuff. So, it
11:57
was exciting.
11:59
Pretty solid performance for only 5
12:00
minutes. 5 minutes notice pretty much.
12:02
Yeah, for sure. For sure.
12:04
Caleb, you were saying, you know, it's
12:05
not going to be this easy, but like are
12:07
you in any way surprised at how many
12:09
dunks you've gotten already? Yeah, I
12:11
mean like there dunks are coming left
12:12
and right for you.
12:14
Uh
12:15
it's a high percentage shot would be my
12:17
point.
12:17
Yeah, I mean it's going it's going
12:20
somebody going to try to figure out how
12:21
to take it away. So whenever that
12:23
happens I'll have to adjust my game to
12:25
to a different place and um I guess I
12:28
can say it's interesting but like we
12:29
play Kansas and they'll have guys
12:30
that'll try to kind of athletic as me.
12:32
So there going to be some conflicts at
12:33
the rim for sure.
12:34
All right. Can we
12:35
I have the skill set to do whatever I
12:38
want on the court so I'm not really
12:39
worried about it. That's my bad. I
12:41
didn't mean to cut you off, but I was
12:42
just going to ask, speaking of Kansas,
12:43
how are you feeling ahead of that game?
12:45
Looking forward to playing DP. Like,
12:46
what are you what are you hoping to see
12:48
out of your team on Friday night?
12:49
Just the best we can be. Uh, I don't
12:51
look forward match to matchups like uh I
12:54
mean, I approach the game the same way
12:56
as I approach tonight. Um, it's
12:58
definitely going to be more people in
12:59
the stands and more outside noise, but
13:01
noise doesn't matter.
13:02
When Kane threw the through the lob in
13:04
the second half on the break where you
13:06
and Seth sort of got in each other's
13:07
way, do you think that one was for you?
13:09
Did you know Seth was over there? He
13:10
said he was saying he thought it was for
13:12
him and then he said a solar eclipse
13:13
came
13:15
meaning you.
13:16
So I saw him running on the side of me
13:18
and I was running and I was like but but
13:20
I I think I got ahead of him and I
13:22
didn't see him like still right there
13:23
cuz I thought he like broke off and then
13:24
I jumped and he was right there. I
13:26
should have just let him have it cuz I
13:27
was inside. But yeah, that's it was just
13:29
a mistake. Just communication for sure.
13:31
Yeah. because of a game like that where
13:32
I