College basketball’s new eligibility chaos has opened the door for all kinds of unlikely scenarios, and one of them could put Seth Trimble back in Duke’s path.
Trimble, the former UNC guard who has already become a headache for the Blue Devils, is being targeted by Louisville, according to reports. If he ends up with the Cardinals, he would join a team that already looks dangerous after a busy run through the Transfer Portal.
Louisville has added Jackson Shelstad from Oregon, Karter Knox from Arkansas, Alvaro Folgueiras from Iowa, and Flory Bidunga from Kansas. Trimble would give Pat Kelsey’s group even more punch in the backcourt, and that matters when the calendar flips toward March and veteran guards become priceless.
Trimble’s name carries extra weight in Durham because of what he did last season. He drilled the game-winning three-pointer in Chapel Hill to beat Duke, handing the Blue Devils their only ACC loss of the season and stopping Jon Scheyer’s team from sweeping its biggest rival for a second straight year.
That’s why the idea of Trimble in Louisville red is easy to circle. He has already played the villain once, and a move to one of Duke’s biggest ACC challengers would only sharpen that image.
Trimble has not said whether he plans to chase a fifth college season. After going undrafted in June, he signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Washington Wizards and then played for them in Summer League.
He turned in a few strong showings, but the NBA interest he was hoping for has not fully materialized, which could send him back to college basketball. A great system we have now, huh folks?
Even if Trimble lands at Louisville, Duke would still be the clear favorite to win the ACC for a third straight season. But the league is loading up around the Blue Devils, and teams are spending big to close the gap.
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