CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina coach Hubert Davis didn’t have to evoke the traditional 24-hour rule on his team after the Tar Heels beat Kansas last Friday.
Circumstance did it for him.
By Sunday afternoon, the euphoria surrounding the consequential early-season victory was replaced by concern when a freak weight room accident left senior captain Seth Trimble with a broken bone in his left forearm. The 6-foot-3 guard underwent surgery to repair the damage and is expected to be out of action for six to eight weeks.
Details of the incident have not been released, other than it involved a weight machine that apparently fell on Trimble while he was working out. Trimble’s teammates deflected questions about what happened when asked following Tuesday’s win against Radford.
Regardless of the cause, the loss of UNC’s best defender, who also contributed 17 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals against the Jayhawks, has provided Davis and his team with a significant challenge as it looks to build on its promising start. “It’s just unfortunate and sad,” Davis said after his 19th-ranked Tar Heels finished off an 89-74 win in its first game without Trimble. “I’ve been with Seth for four years and I wanted him on the floor.”
That won’t happen again until at least the start of the new year. Barring any setbacks, Trimble could be back in the lineup by the Tar Heels’ game at SMU on Jan. 3. Until then, others will have to step up to help UNC bridge the gap through a tough nonconference schedule that includes tests against Michigan State, Kentucky, Georgetown and Ohio State, along with its ACC opener against Florida State.
“One of the things I always say is that I don’t know where, when or the manner in which you’re going to get an opportunity, but when it happens your job and responsibility is to be ready when your number is called,” Davis said. “Obviously we’re sad that Seth is not able to play right now, but it is a wonderful opportunity for a number of guys that will get extended minutes.”
The most likely beneficiaries of that added playing time are freshman Luka Bogavac and sophomore Jonathan Powell. Both made the most of their unexpected opportunities with strong performances in the win against Radford.
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Bogavac, a 6-foot-6 native of Montenegro who wasn’t cleared by the NCAA until just before the season opener against Central Arkansas last week, took Trimble’s spot in the starting lineup and contributed 19 points and a team-leading 5 assists despite a slow shooting start. His scoring total was four points more than his first two games combined and his 30 minutes of court time was 10 more than his previous average. Powell also saw a significant jump in both scoring and playing time while providing a spark off the bench with a pair of three-pointers that helped shake the Tar Heels out of some early doldrums. The 6-foot-6 West Virginia transfer finished with eight points in 21 minutes.
Between them, Bogavac and Powell more than made up the difference for the 14 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game lost with Trimble’s absence. Numbers on the stat sheet, however, are only a portion of the value the longest-tenured Tar Heel adds to his team. “Seth is a huge part of this team,” teammate Jarin Stevenson said. “He’s like a firecracker who brings a lot of energy and gets us organized offensively and defensively.”
It’s a spark that was missing during the opening 12 minutes against Radford. Although some of UNC’s early malaise could be attributed to foul trouble that limited star freshman Caleb Wilson to only eight first-half minutes and an ankle injury that sidelined Stevenson temporarily, it took an 8-0 run just before halftime for the Tar Heels to gain some separation from the Highlanders.
The most encouraging aspect of the Tar Heels’ early struggles is the leadership it helped identify. “We had leaders step up to get us going towards the end of the first half and in the second half,” Stevenson said, singling out Arizona transfer Henri Veesaar and former Colorado State point guard Kyan Evans. “We have to have that from the jump.”
If there’s a silver lining to Trimble’s injury, other than the fact that it’s to his non-shooting hand, it’s that it happened early enough in the season for him to eventually return and for his team to adjust. It could also turn out to be a blessing in disguise because of the added experience his replacements will gain, especially a newcomer like Bogavac, who is still adjusting to college rules and the American style of play. “I have the space to be more comfortable,” Bogavac said. “Maybe I’m a little bit nervous, which is why I think I missed a lot of shots (on Tuesday). But with time, it will get better and I will feel more and more comfortable.”
Others who could factor into the rotation in Trimble’s absence include Virginia Tech transfer Jaydon Young, who played a season-high 10 minutes against Radford, but was only 1 of 6 from the floor with three turnovers. “The more guys we get going, the better for us,” Evans said. “Teams that make (NCAA Tournament) runs are deep and we feel like we can be that.”
In the meantime, Trimble is doing his part to help however he can while his arm is in a cast. He could be seen actively coaching and supporting his younger teammates from the bench during the Radford game. At the same time, he’s received encouragement from his own coach, who went through a similar experience early in his NBA career with the New York Knicks.
“My second year, I was really in a good spot with the Knicks and I just happened to run into Jon Koncak from the Atlanta Hawks and broke my hand,” Davis said. “I was out six weeks and thought it was the worst thing that ever happened to me. The timing was horrible. But those six weeks I worked on my left hand and when I came back, my left was better than my right. It actually made me a better player and allowed me to step back and see things I wouldn’t have seen had I been playing. That year we went to the NBA finals. So I told Seth to use this as a positive, even though it’s unfortunate.”
