As many UNC fans know by now, former UNC guard Seth Trimble has announced his commitment to the Louisville Cardinals. He made his announcement yesterday, and when the news broke Twitter started smoking. Some fans were shocked that he would choose an ACC team to transfer to, while others were just hoping that he would’ve finished his college career as a Tar Heel in general.
UNC head coach released a statement regarding Trimble’s commitment, making it very clear that there just wasn’t room for him on
the team by the time the court ruling was announced.
Trimble himself confirmed that there was no more room on the roster via his Instagram, which was the reason why he decided to enter the transfer portal. This all follows the Carolina senior going undrafted in the NBA Draft, but he later agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with the Washington Wizards. He played for the Wizards during the NBA Summer League, but once it was announced that fifth year seniors had the ability to return to college, Trimble threw his hat in the ring.
Regarding his decision to transfer to Louisville, I do not have a problem with his decision. Michael Malone had two choices in this situation: he could’ve left a spot open for Trimble, which would’ve put him at risk of having a whole on his roster going into the late part of the summer. He also could’ve done what he did, which is build the roster as if the verdict was going to be that fifth year seniors would be deemed ineligible so that you can make a good impression in your first year as head coach. Malone chose the latter, and I really don’t think the situation is any deeper than there being no more room for Trimble.
What I do have a problem with, though, is the situation that the fifth year eligibility verdict has created, in particular when it comes to Trimble. The NCAA had made it as clear as mud that if you sign a NBA contract, you will be deemed ineligible to return to college. But what is the verdict when it comes to Exhibit 10 contracts? They are technically one-year non-guaranteed contracts, so does that mean Trimble is ineligible? Or does this fall into the “we’re making it up as we go” category? It is also possible that he merely agreed to the contract with the Wizards, but didn’t sign anything in hopes that the court ruling would go in his favor. To be clear, though: it isn’t that I want Trimble to be ineligible, but the big problem here is that this is yet another example of the NCAA having no clear guidelines anymore, from the transfer portal, to NIL, and now the fifth year rule. Waiting for Congress to clean up the mess cannot keep being the solution, but it wouldn’t shock me if that’s the path that Charlie Baker takes yet again.
For what it’s worth, the NCAA is fighting the fifth-year ruling, and we could hear more about that as soon as next week. If they are able to get the ruling reversed during the appeals process, then any fifth-year transfer’s eligibility could be in danger. This also means that holes will be left in anybody’s roster who already earned a commitment from a fifth-year player, so the whole situation screams chaos. But that’s what the NCAA is best at, right?
Seth Trimble deserves to join a team with as crazy as a roster as Louisville has, and he also deserves to have one more crack at winning a national title. We’ll see how everything plays out with the NCAA and the courts, though, because something tells me this will only get messier before we receive any kind of clarity.
