Junior guard Seth Trimble returned to the lineup on Tuesday night following a three-game absence due to injury.
While Trimble was on the mend, the UNC basketball program felt his absence, as he's been a impactful player on both ends of the floor for the Tar Heels.
Following the victory over SMU, head coach Hubert Davis was asked about the return of Trimble. While the question was posed to ask Davis about the potential challenges of bringing Trimble back into the fold, the Tar Heels leader doesn't see it as a challenge, but rather as a good thing.
"First full practice, yes. I don't look at it as a challenge, I look at it as a good thing. It takes time. You think, the last time that he played was at UCLA, that's a long time. And so a huge part of basketball is finding your rhythm, and there's nothing that you can do to get your rhythm other than being out there on the floor. And so he'll be much better at practice on Thursday, and he'll be much better on Saturday, but I expected him to be a little rusty because he hadn't played for a long time. But I'm so happy that he's back. Having him on the floor makes us a really good basketball team because of his ability to score and defend, and I'm so happy he's back in the lineup."
As Davis noted, it will certainly take time, as Trimble had not played since December 21. Rhythm is an important aspect of competing on the floor, as Davis is confident that Trimble will get back into his full groove as he re-adjusts himself back into the mix.
Needless to say, Davis is thrilled to have Trimble back in the lineup, as his presence makes this UNC basketball team much better then they are when he's sidelined.