Of the 1000000 things that make no sense, the playing time of Jonathan Powell is close to the top of them for the UNC basketball program.
When Seth Trimble went down due to injury, Powell was one of the guys who benefitted from additional minutes that became available.
In the 9 games that Trimble was sidelined, Powell averaged double-digit minutes played, playing 20+ minutes in five of those contests. He showed what he can do on both sides of the floor, which led everyone to believe that the West Virginia transfer would still play a large role once Trimble returned to action.
While his minutes were steady leading up to the end of 2025, the flip of the calendar has been much different for Powell in terms of playing time.
In three games since January 3, Powell hasn't played more than 12 minutes in a single contest. After scoring six points in 12 minutes of action against Wake Forest, Powell followed it up by playing...
Three minutes against Stanford.
MAKE IT MAKE SENSE!
In a game he could've made an impact...
Hubert Davis, for some odd reason, elected not to use Powell more, which made no sense at the time or even looking back on the disastrous loss. Davis has been extremely inconsistent with his bench usage, which, likely plays a role in the fact that the bench can't get into a consistent groove.
Let's face it: it's absolutely impossible to settle in not know what your role is or what is expected out of you on a nightly basis.
Of course, it wasn't just Powell who wasn't used much. Jaydon Young, coming off his best outing as a Tar Heel, played only six minutes while Derek Dixon, whose minutes has also steadily declined, saw just 11 minutes of court action.
The combination of Seth Trimble (36 minutes) and Kyan Evans (28) ate up most of the backcourt playing time, as they combined for just two assists on four turnovers.
Given that Evans struggled (again) shooting the basketball, and Trimble clearly was gassed trying to slow down Ebuka Okorie (which he was unable to do), don't ya wish the UNC basketball program had a player who can play above-average defense and provide some steady three-point shooting?
Oh wait... they do. They just failed to use him.
Another day, another coaching concern for the UNC basketball program. It makes much more sense why guys transfer out of the program and find their spark: it has a lot to do with how the coaching staff handles its players.