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University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Lucas: The Fan Club
January 5, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Marcus Paige identified one Tar Heel freshman as being key to Wednesday's win.
By Adam Lucas
Marcus Paige was walking down a back hallway of the Smith Center after Wednesday night's 88-79 Carolina win over Wake Forest. His left shoulder was in a complicated looking contraption resulting from recent shoulder surgery that ended his season in Spain, but he still looked like he could make a game-winner if you needed him.
He and his wife, Taylor, were asked if they needed a postgame box score. "No thanks," he said. Marcus Paige does not need actual statistics to know what happened in a game.
"I think," he said, "I might be the president of the Seth Trimble Fan Club."
Of course he is. Of course Paige would appreciate the play of Trimble, who scored a career-high 11 points against the Demon Deacons but somehow managed to make that the least important part of his evening.
Not reflected in those 11 points is the way Trimble harassed Wake leading scorer Tyree Appleby, who finished 5-for-15 from the field. A highlight reel possession came in the final eight minutes of the game, with Carolina holding a three-point lead and Wake inbounding the ball. Steve Forbes' team wanted to get it to Appleby, but Trimble simply wouldn't allow it. He shadowed Appleby all over the backcourt, matching every cut and muscling through every forearm.
Their primary option eliminated, the Deacs looked confused and stumbled through the first dozen seconds of their possession. By the time Appleby finally got his hands on the basketball, half the shot clock was gone. Then forced into a rush, Wake turned the ball over, with Armando Bacot grabbing the steal and RJ Davis hitting a three-pointer for a 70-64 lead.
In that sequence, Trimble did nothing that appeared on the stat sheet. He simply helped win the game.
Keep in mind that Carolina trailed, 56-52, when Trimble entered with 14:09 remaining. That's when Hubert Davis elected to play Trimble with Caleb Love and RJ Davis simultaneously, giving the Tar Heels some backcourt flexibility.
"When they are out there together, we have three really good defenders," Hubert Davis said on the Tar Heel Sports Network after the game. "On the offensive end, you have three guys who can not only make shots, but can also create shots. We have multiple playmakers who can attack the basket…I like all three of them on the floor at the same time."
Wake initially appeared to think they had an advantage. The demonstrative Damai Monsanto almost immediately scored on Trimble and gave the "too small" gesture. Within seconds, though, the freshman scored on the other end, then forced a Monsanto turnover.
Monsanto no longer seemed to believe Trimble was too small. A couple minutes later, as if to reinforce the point, Trimble soared to swat an Appleby shot out of bounds, one of his two blocks on the evening.
Add it all up and Trimble was +16, the highest figure from either side in the game. This number was relayed to Hubert Davis in the Tar Heel locker room. "I don't know about all that plus-minus, because sometimes those numbers are bejeebies," Davis said, "but I know that Seth played really well."
So well that he caught the eye of Paige. Keep in mind that Seth Trimble thinks about Marcus Paige much the same way the rest of us do—as a hero. When Trimble's brother, J.P. Tokoto, was a teammate of Paige during Paige's remarkable sophomore campaign, Trimble was (be prepared, this is going to hurt) only a fourth grader, the perfect age to be completely in awe of the Tar Heel players.
"I probably looked up to Marcus just as much as I looked up to my brother," Trimble said on Wednesday night. "I thought he was the greatest thing ever."
Imagine, then, what it was like for Trimble to be on campus in Chapel Hill this summer, playing in the regular Carolina basketball pickup games—which often featured Paige as a participant.
On most days, Paige torments all of the younger Tar Heels, because he is still an incredibly good player. Lean one way, and he scores going the other way. Sag back just a quarter step, and he launches a three-pointer over your head. Try to play him tightly, and he's past you.
But he also took time over the summer to offer Trimble a few pointers—a missed opportunity to take a shot, an angle that could have been better. On the same court where a tiny Trimble had once marveled at the heroic Paige, now the veteran Tar Heel was grooming the next Carolina basketball generation.
Paige's charter membership in the Trimble Fan Club was mentioned to Seth, who visibly did a doubletake. "Coming from Marcus, that seriously means everything," Trimble said. "When I was in third or fourth grade watching Marcus play, I dreamed of being in that position one day. My jaw was always wide open watching him play, with the shots he took and the way he created for his teammates. It's so cool to hear him say that."
Marcus Paige was walking down a back hallway of the Smith Center after Wednesday night's 88-79 Carolina win over Wake Forest. His left shoulder was in a complicated looking contraption resulting from recent shoulder surgery that ended his season in Spain, but he still looked like he could make a game-winner if you needed him.
He and his wife, Taylor, were asked if they needed a postgame box score. "No thanks," he said. Marcus Paige does not need actual statistics to know what happened in a game.
"I think," he said, "I might be the president of the Seth Trimble Fan Club."
Of course he is. Of course Paige would appreciate the play of Trimble, who scored a career-high 11 points against the Demon Deacons but somehow managed to make that the least important part of his evening.
Not reflected in those 11 points is the way Trimble harassed Wake leading scorer Tyree Appleby, who finished 5-for-15 from the field. A highlight reel possession came in the final eight minutes of the game, with Carolina holding a three-point lead and Wake inbounding the ball. Steve Forbes' team wanted to get it to Appleby, but Trimble simply wouldn't allow it. He shadowed Appleby all over the backcourt, matching every cut and muscling through every forearm.
Their primary option eliminated, the Deacs looked confused and stumbled through the first dozen seconds of their possession. By the time Appleby finally got his hands on the basketball, half the shot clock was gone. Then forced into a rush, Wake turned the ball over, with Armando Bacot grabbing the steal and RJ Davis hitting a three-pointer for a 70-64 lead.
In that sequence, Trimble did nothing that appeared on the stat sheet. He simply helped win the game.
Keep in mind that Carolina trailed, 56-52, when Trimble entered with 14:09 remaining. That's when Hubert Davis elected to play Trimble with Caleb Love and RJ Davis simultaneously, giving the Tar Heels some backcourt flexibility.
"When they are out there together, we have three really good defenders," Hubert Davis said on the Tar Heel Sports Network after the game. "On the offensive end, you have three guys who can not only make shots, but can also create shots. We have multiple playmakers who can attack the basket…I like all three of them on the floor at the same time."
Wake initially appeared to think they had an advantage. The demonstrative Damai Monsanto almost immediately scored on Trimble and gave the "too small" gesture. Within seconds, though, the freshman scored on the other end, then forced a Monsanto turnover.
Monsanto no longer seemed to believe Trimble was too small. A couple minutes later, as if to reinforce the point, Trimble soared to swat an Appleby shot out of bounds, one of his two blocks on the evening.
Add it all up and Trimble was +16, the highest figure from either side in the game. This number was relayed to Hubert Davis in the Tar Heel locker room. "I don't know about all that plus-minus, because sometimes those numbers are bejeebies," Davis said, "but I know that Seth played really well."
So well that he caught the eye of Paige. Keep in mind that Seth Trimble thinks about Marcus Paige much the same way the rest of us do—as a hero. When Trimble's brother, J.P. Tokoto, was a teammate of Paige during Paige's remarkable sophomore campaign, Trimble was (be prepared, this is going to hurt) only a fourth grader, the perfect age to be completely in awe of the Tar Heel players.
"I probably looked up to Marcus just as much as I looked up to my brother," Trimble said on Wednesday night. "I thought he was the greatest thing ever."
Imagine, then, what it was like for Trimble to be on campus in Chapel Hill this summer, playing in the regular Carolina basketball pickup games—which often featured Paige as a participant.
On most days, Paige torments all of the younger Tar Heels, because he is still an incredibly good player. Lean one way, and he scores going the other way. Sag back just a quarter step, and he launches a three-pointer over your head. Try to play him tightly, and he's past you.
But he also took time over the summer to offer Trimble a few pointers—a missed opportunity to take a shot, an angle that could have been better. On the same court where a tiny Trimble had once marveled at the heroic Paige, now the veteran Tar Heel was grooming the next Carolina basketball generation.
Paige's charter membership in the Trimble Fan Club was mentioned to Seth, who visibly did a doubletake. "Coming from Marcus, that seriously means everything," Trimble said. "When I was in third or fourth grade watching Marcus play, I dreamed of being in that position one day. My jaw was always wide open watching him play, with the shots he took and the way he created for his teammates. It's so cool to hear him say that."
Players Mentioned
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