Change is constant.
In sports, in work, in life, your surroundings are always changing. The only thing to do is adapt.
No one is a better example of this than Seth Trimble.
A self proclaimed “late bloomer,” Trimble was unrecruited until his sophomore year of high school, and didn’t receive his first high major offer until his junior year. Said Trimble, “I was always a short kid who wasn’t the fastest, you know, maybe wasn’t the best player on the floor. But what just helped me take that jump was probably like, probably eighth grade where I kind of just realized it was an F-it mentality thing.”
Trimble’s progression into a basketball star didn’t happen overnight. Trimble was tested for the first time during the summer before his freshman year of high school, at a CP3 basketball camp. Although he was a solid player, Trimble was unable to keep up with the other guys at the camp. Trimble recalled “everybody was making shots and this and that, but me.”
During that summer, his mentality came into play. Always working, pushing himself to his limits, Seth developed into a starting caliber player.
In his freshman year of high school at Menomonee Falls, Trimble played well, averaging 10.5 points per game while playing a secondary role to star players Steven Clay and Ricky Price III. Although he had become more athletic, Trimble was still short, standing only 5 feet and 11 inches tall, and had not yet developed into the lockdown defender he came to be known as.
Although his first big leap came in the summer before his freshman year, he wasn’t finished. In the offseason before his sophomore year, he developed his game to the point that it would be impossible to call him anything else but a star.
Sure enough, his hard work paid off. In his sophomore year, Trimble was thrust into a leading role, and scouts started to take notice. However, his new position came with a few drawbacks. Trimble was pushed far out of his comfort zone, forced to shoot a wealth of threes, and struggled mightily from beyond the arc, shooting only 28% from three after shooting over 50% his freshman year.
Although his three point percentages decreased, Trimble fit into his role as a star beautifully, averaging 20 points per game while making 52% from the floor. He. Wasn’t. Done. Yet.
In his junior year of high school, Trimble became a bona fide superstar. He was the team’s leading scorer, averaging over 23 points a game, and his three point percentage rose to 35.1%, as he adapted and settled into his role as a primary scorer. He also turned into a lockdown defender, leading his team in both steals AND blocks.
Despite his role changing every year, Trimble had adapted and excelled. Colleges took notice. Trimble started receiving interest left and right, the most appealing coming from Michigan and North Carolina.
His senior year was much like his junior year, but Trimble continued to improve, putting up an insane 26.2 points, and 2.5 steals per game. Director of Basketball Scouting for 24/7 Sports, Jerry Meyer, referred to him as “an off the charts leaper off two feet [who] slashes to the basket either direction with strength, quickness and composure.”
By May, Trimble had narrowed down his college search to two schools, Michigan and North Carolina. On June 23, 2021, Trimble announced his commitment to UNC in an instagram video.
During the offseason, Trimble attended USA Basketball’s Men’s U18 training camp along with fellow UNC recruit, G.G. Jackson. When asked what he expected his role to be, Trimble said “I want to be able to create for a lot of these players on the court. When I come into Carolina, I’m gonna be coming in with shooters, so just getting downhill and making open threes.”
Despite all the excitement, Trimble’s freshman year at UNC ended up being one of his most challenging seasons of basketball ever. Trimble played less than ten minutes a game and averaged just 1.8 points. Trimble continued to be a great defender, but he struggled mightily on the offensive end of the floor. He wasn’t able to hit the open threes he wanted, and shot just 16.7% from beyond the arc. He lost all his confidence. Senior Associate Athletic Director Steve Kirschner explained “he almost had a bit of a mental block… he would be so focused on getting into the lane that he wouldn’t even think to shoot and Coach Davis would just be saying, ‘shoot, shoot man. You’re a good player.’”
Looking back on his freshman year, Trimble said “My freshman year here was definitely the lowest point. I went on a two or three game starting stretch and then I kind of went from that to playing four minutes a game, playing five minutes a game and that had never happened before. Like I said, I hadn’t really faced a ton of adversity on the basketball court like I did when I got here. It was a struggle. It was a struggle and it took a toll on me mentally, you know, it changed some things about me but I was able to find my way again.”
Despite this frustrating year, once again, Trimble adapted, as he does so well. When asked what changed from his freshman to sophomore year at UNC, Trimble explained “I worked on myself mentally. That was the biggest thing. I was in the gym. Don’t get me wrong. I was in the gym, but I wouldn’t have made that jump if it wasn’t for what I worked on mentally. I read a lot of books. You know, studying some players who have had that mental edge. I met with a psychologist, I really just took the next step and stepped out of my comfort zone to make sure I was the player that I wanted to be this year.”
His mental training worked. Trimble’s minutes jumped from less than 10 a game to over 17 per night, and he averaged 5.2 points per game. His three point percentage improved drastically, up to 42%, and he was much more comfortable on the floor. Trimble was also a lockdown defender for the Tar Heels, and was their best on-ball defender. His mental adjustment took him from being an end of the bench player, to being the third leading vote-getter for ACC Sixth Man of the Year.
Next year, Trimble will have to adapt again, this time in the locker room. The 19 year old will be the fourth oldest Tar Heel next year, and is ready to become a vocal leader. Said Trimble, “I need to show what was given to me to the younger guys now. That will be the biggest step for me to become a leader.”
