UNC Basketball: Future Tar Heels shine at FIBA U18 Tournament

FIBA’s U18 Americas Championship tournament kicked off in Tijuana, Mexico on Monday. Team USA, which features UNC commitments Seth Trimble (guard, class of 2022) and GG Jackson (power forward, 2023) absolutely pummeled the Dominican Republic 116-48. All 12 players on the US squad played double-digit minutes.

Seth Trimble led the team in minutes (23) and had an excellent all-around performance. He scored 11 points (3/4 from the floor, 1/2 from three-point range, 4/4 from the line) and had five assists against only one turnover. He also added five steals.

GG Jackson played 17 minutes and scored 8 points on 3/7 shooting while grabbing four rebounds. He was unguardable on the baseline and showed great rim-running ability and a full-court pass for an assist. Jackson will be tremendous on the fast break.

Trimble and Jackson had the second and third highest +/- on the team (+40 and +36, respectively), behind Duke commit Jared McCain, who scored 8 points on 4/9 shooting. McCain did not attempt a free throw and missed all three of his three-point attempts.

The Dominican Republic was horribly outmatched by Team USA. The Americans outrebounded the Dominicans by 20 and shot 52.9% from the field. If it weren’t for an anemic 4/21 performance from downtown, this game could have really gotten out of hand, 68-point margin notwithstanding!

Trimble’s performance makes for pleasant viewing, especially with next year’s team in mind. He doesn’t force action and since he’s surrounded by superior talent, he just needs to keep the pace going to be successful. Next year, when he spells either Caleb Love or RJ Davis, he won’t need to force offense to win games, he can just rely on experienced talent to deliver wins, and efficiently snipe buckets as they come.

Besides his skill on the court, Seth Trimble seems awfully diplomatic in the post game clip below. GG Jackson makes sure Seth feels the love too, in a manner of speaking:

You can rewatch the game in its entirety on YouTube (link below). Trimble wears #4 and Jackson wears #15.