The difference between Seth Trimble as a freshman and him during his second season at North Carolina was a more polished, confident, and productive player.

And, as time went on, including his stint in the transfer portal before pulling out and returning to Chapel Hill, Trimble realized UNC was where he wanted to be. His college hoops forever home.

So, with that, the supremely athletic 6-foot-3 guard from Wisconsin will be a Tar Heel as a junior, and the blueprint moving forward should be the noted improvements between years one and two.

“It's natural growth. I mean, I don't know how else to say it,” Trimble said, discussing the progress he made from his freshman to sophomore seasons. “I (was) more comfortable and more confident my sophomore year than I was in my freshman year.”

Trimble went from shooting 1-for-6 from 3-point range as a freshman to 13-for-31 (41.9%) this past season. His free throw shooting went from 54.8% to 66.7%, converting his last ten attempts on the season. And Trimble, who averaged a turnover every 16.1 minutes as a freshman, averaged one every 27.2 minutes as a sophomore.

Confidence and performance went hand-and-hand for Trimble, whose other noteworthy improvements were ballhandling, comfort with the ball in his hands on the perimeter, driving, using the baseline, and adding a pull-up jumper in the lane plus a floater and runner.

Trimble added the two-and-three-dribble jumper inside the free throw lane during the winter, but for the most part, the range of his performance was brought out due to his on-court disposition.

“I just think aggressiveness, (but) I think the biggest progression for me has been mentally,” Trimble said. “For me, 95 percent of it at least is mental. Working on that all summer really helped me improve. And I think my next step is continuing to show who I am… Continuing to show who I am is important.”

He averaged 5.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per contest while shooting 47.0 percent from the floor. Trimble did this playing 17.1 minutes per contest.

The latter is a reason he initially went into the portal, as he simply wanted more time. But while nothing could be promised, Trimble’s defensive qualities will surely get him on the court plenty each game, even on nights he’s not producing points.

Trimble was Carolina’s top defender this past season, and will be next winter, too.

It just so happens that two of Carolina’s worst defensive performances came in a home loss to Clemson and road loss at Syracuse. The Tigers shot just under 40 percent on the night, but opened with a 17-2 lead, and still got a ton of open looks, of which many they happened to miss.

And after a narrow win at Miami, the Heels allowed Syracuse its best shooting game in half a century in a loss at JMA Wireless Dome. Trimble missed the first two games of the span with a concussion, and barely played the Orange, later noting he tried coming back too soon.

He knows his worth to the Tar Heels.

“My defensive presence definitely allows other guys to be more themselves,” Trimble said. “Even the energy. Even when I’m not having my best defensive game, I think the energy boost I try and give can still impact the team.”

Trimble’s offseason is about getting better in every aspect of the game. Fully settled in once and for all, he can lose himself in the work. And it’s possible Trimble adds to his game in year three the way he did for year two. All the tools are certainly there.

“His athleticism, his versatility on both ends of the floor,” Davis said, outlining what he sees in Trimble. “I believe that he can be an elite defender, on and off the ball because of his athleticism and his strength to be able to guard multiple positions. Offensively, his ability to be able to get to the basket and finish and shoot the ball well from outside.”

Trimble was welcomed back by his teammates with open arms. And they will gladly embraced his game going up a few more notches again, too.