Jackson McCurdy, North Carolina Tar Heels On SI

UNC's 2 Most Disappointing Aspects in Wilson’s Absence

Originally posted on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI
By Caleb Meadows | Last updated Feb 19, 2026 8:00 AM ET

North Carolina lost its star player, Caleb Wilson, last week. The Tar Heels are 1-2 in games since Wilson has been injured, including the Miami game in which he got injured. Energy is at an all-time low in Chapel Hill after UNC suffered an embarrassing loss to NC State.

With Wilson’s absence, someone must step up if UNC is going to stay afloat. The question is, who will that player be? There has been a three-game sample size without Wilson, and unfortunately there has been more disappointment than not.

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Here are two disappointing aspects in Wilson’s absence.

Seth Trimble has not become the main guy

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Seth Trimble has been waiting for this moment his entire collegiate career. His minutes, points and responsibility have all gone up year after year. In the age of NIL, Trimble could have left to get more opportunities quickly, but he stayed loyal to UNC. The senior guard has now been called upon to lead the program that he has stuck by for the past four years.

Now that it is supposedly his team, Trimble has not responded like it. In the three games that UNC needed him more than ever, he scored four points, two of those three games. Less than five points twice is unacceptable and flat-out embarrassing.

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This is what Trimble has been waiting and patiently waiting for, and this is how he responds. To go along with his lack of scoring, he has not hit a 3-pointer in the last three games. It has been a historically bad stretch for Trimble at the worst possible time for the Tar Heels.

It is really unfortunate to witness, because Trimble was on cloud nine after the game-winner versus Duke. Now that the Tar Heels are calling on him to step up and carry the squad, the pressure has seemingly gotten to Trimble.

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Maybe Trimble is just a good side character, and that is OK, but the Tar Heels may have to look and focus elsewhere if Trimble is not going to emerge as the main guy in Chapel Hill.

Backcourt has failed UNC

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Trimble is not the only guard on UNC that has been disappointing. It has honestly been the whole guard group as a whole. As bad as Trimble has been, Derek Dixon has somehow been worse.

He is 4 of 26 from the field and 2 of 18 from beyond the arc in the three games without Wilson. Those numbers are baffling to look at for any player, let alone the starting point guard at UNC. Dixon has received a little pass from the fan base due to him being a freshman and still the lead playmaker for the Tar Heels. That is understandable, but something has to give here.

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Luka Bogavac has been OK, and that is about it. Nothing special, which he has not been that all year. Kyan Evans continues to provide practically nothing, and head coach Hubert Davis has to be considering playing freshman Isaiah Denis.