University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: DALTON WAINSCOTT
Lucas: Legend
February 24, 2026 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
What happens when you have the biggest moment of your life, and then life keeps going?
By Adam Lucas
Prior to Saturday's game at Syracuse, Seth Trimble stepped on the elevator at the team hotel, joining Voice of the Tar Heels Jones Angell and assistant coach Pat Sullivan.
"What's up, legend?" the gregarious Sullivan said.
Trimble shook his head. "I haven't played like a legend lately," he replied.
Trimble will be on a Franklin Street mural one day for his game-winning shot against Duke. But what happens when you have a moment that will follow you for the rest of your life…and then life keeps going?
The answer is that at first you might struggle. Trimble was 0-for-5 at Miami. He was 5-for-13 against Pitt and turned it over twice. He went 1-of-9 at NC State and then missed his only field goal attempt in the first half against Syracuse.
That's a 6-of-28 performance through 99 minutes of game action. At halftime on Saturday, something changed. He shot 5-for-6 and grabbed five rebounds in the second half against the Orange, and then followed it with perhaps the best game of his Carolina career on Monday night in a 77-74 win over Louisville.
It wasn't just his career-high 30 points. It wasn't that he led the team in assists with four. It wasn't that he was a big part of the defensive effort on Cardinal standout Mikel Brown Jr., who scored 24 points but needed a whopping 25 shots to do it (Trimble's 30 came on 16 shots). It wasn't his two clutch free throws with 12.3 seconds remaining to push it to a five-point lead on a night when the Heels desperately needed someone to step up and make free throws.
It was the fact that he did all of it on the same night, on a night Carolina urgently needed an important win. The Heels now have three ranked wins in one season at the Smith Center for the first time since 2019, and the victory should be an important part of Carolina's postseason credentials for both ACC and NCAA Tournament seeding.
But the most significant importance was that the win certified the Heels can play a good opponent and beat them even without Caleb Wilson. This isn't just a team that's completely about the freshman. He's a huge part of it, and his eventual return will be a tremendous addition. But other than a complete disappearance at NC State—"We were soft," Trimble said—the team has played some good basketball in his absence.
They've gotten good shots and made them. They've defended. They've played the game in a way that will be that much more dangerous if they continue to do it when he returns.
And they've allowed Trimble to play through one of the most unique months of his life and emerge as an even better player.
"You really have to brush that aside," Trimble said of his game-winner against the Blue Devils. "It was such a huge play, and I love that play. But I don't care about it at all right now. Other people bring it up, and that's been something new that I've experienced. But I put it aside in that second half at Syracuse and since that I feel like I've been me."
Being him means attacking the basket with purpose. In those three halves since halftime at Syracuse, he's taken 22 shots, and only three of them were three-pointers. The irony is that the moment we're going to remember from this season is a Trimble three-pointer. But the Tar Heels are more dangerous when he's effectively attacking the rim and finishing than taking jump shots.
"His natural giftedness to attack the basket is real," Hubert Davis said after the game on the Tar Heel Sports Network. "When he puts his head down and is that aggressive in going to the basket, he just makes good plays—he scores or gets fouled or opens things up for his teammates."
Trimble only has two home games remaining at Carolina. He only has one more chance to win an ACC Tournament. This is his last opportunity to advance to a Final Four.
Those are the credentials that help hang banners, and that's something Trimble wants on his Tar Heel biography. Even when he's already a legend.
Prior to Saturday's game at Syracuse, Seth Trimble stepped on the elevator at the team hotel, joining Voice of the Tar Heels Jones Angell and assistant coach Pat Sullivan.
"What's up, legend?" the gregarious Sullivan said.
Trimble shook his head. "I haven't played like a legend lately," he replied.
Trimble will be on a Franklin Street mural one day for his game-winning shot against Duke. But what happens when you have a moment that will follow you for the rest of your life…and then life keeps going?
The answer is that at first you might struggle. Trimble was 0-for-5 at Miami. He was 5-for-13 against Pitt and turned it over twice. He went 1-of-9 at NC State and then missed his only field goal attempt in the first half against Syracuse.
That's a 6-of-28 performance through 99 minutes of game action. At halftime on Saturday, something changed. He shot 5-for-6 and grabbed five rebounds in the second half against the Orange, and then followed it with perhaps the best game of his Carolina career on Monday night in a 77-74 win over Louisville.
It wasn't just his career-high 30 points. It wasn't that he led the team in assists with four. It wasn't that he was a big part of the defensive effort on Cardinal standout Mikel Brown Jr., who scored 24 points but needed a whopping 25 shots to do it (Trimble's 30 came on 16 shots). It wasn't his two clutch free throws with 12.3 seconds remaining to push it to a five-point lead on a night when the Heels desperately needed someone to step up and make free throws.
It was the fact that he did all of it on the same night, on a night Carolina urgently needed an important win. The Heels now have three ranked wins in one season at the Smith Center for the first time since 2019, and the victory should be an important part of Carolina's postseason credentials for both ACC and NCAA Tournament seeding.
But the most significant importance was that the win certified the Heels can play a good opponent and beat them even without Caleb Wilson. This isn't just a team that's completely about the freshman. He's a huge part of it, and his eventual return will be a tremendous addition. But other than a complete disappearance at NC State—"We were soft," Trimble said—the team has played some good basketball in his absence.
They've gotten good shots and made them. They've defended. They've played the game in a way that will be that much more dangerous if they continue to do it when he returns.
And they've allowed Trimble to play through one of the most unique months of his life and emerge as an even better player.
"You really have to brush that aside," Trimble said of his game-winner against the Blue Devils. "It was such a huge play, and I love that play. But I don't care about it at all right now. Other people bring it up, and that's been something new that I've experienced. But I put it aside in that second half at Syracuse and since that I feel like I've been me."
Being him means attacking the basket with purpose. In those three halves since halftime at Syracuse, he's taken 22 shots, and only three of them were three-pointers. The irony is that the moment we're going to remember from this season is a Trimble three-pointer. But the Tar Heels are more dangerous when he's effectively attacking the rim and finishing than taking jump shots.
"His natural giftedness to attack the basket is real," Hubert Davis said after the game on the Tar Heel Sports Network. "When he puts his head down and is that aggressive in going to the basket, he just makes good plays—he scores or gets fouled or opens things up for his teammates."
Trimble only has two home games remaining at Carolina. He only has one more chance to win an ACC Tournament. This is his last opportunity to advance to a Final Four.
Those are the credentials that help hang banners, and that's something Trimble wants on his Tar Heel biography. Even when he's already a legend.
Players Mentioned
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