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#UNC's Derek Dixon, Henri Veesaar, Seth Trimble and Zaydon High after win at Syracuse
Feb 21, 2026
#UNC's Derek Dixon, Henri Veesaar, Seth Trimble and Zaydon High after win at Syracuse
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0:00
defensively. Um, and we came out of it
0:02
with a lot more energy. Uh, I think Seth
0:04
like got in the gap and stole it. Got a
0:06
little breakaway dunk, gave us some
0:07
energy, and we just kept building off
0:08
that, building off getting his top.
0:10
He had, I think, one assist in the first
0:13
15 plus minute or 30 25 plus minutes of
0:15
the game. He finished with 13 points,
0:17
had like six rebounds, a couple of
0:19
assists. The difference in him stepping
0:21
up when you guys needed to.
0:22
Yeah, I mean, he's he's big for us. Uh,
0:24
as a captain, you know, we we all build
0:26
off his energy. Um, and it's on both
0:27
ends, defensively and offensively. Um,
0:31
at halftime, coach, we all challenged
0:33
him. You know, we got to be better. We
0:34
need you. And, uh, he stepped up to it.
0:36
And, you know, it was great to see him.
0:37
Aside from Henry's production, just
0:39
knowing that he's clear he was going to
0:40
play. Was that that give you guys a sort
0:42
of a lift?
0:43
Uh, yeah. I mean, Henry's a great
0:45
player. Obviously, when he's out there,
0:46
you know, he's doing great things for us
0:47
and he's really big for us.
0:49
Knowing he's going to play,
0:50
I wouldn't say necessarily. Um, I mean,
0:52
obviously it's great to have him out
0:53
there and great great with the what all
0:56
that he brings, but uh, I think, you
0:57
know, we're we're ready to play every
0:58
night.
0:59
I know that Seth's somebody that kind of
1:00
has taken you under his wing. Um, you
1:02
know, that's your brother, twin,
1:04
whatever you want to say. Um, but what's
1:06
the relationship been like and how has
1:08
it evolved to the point that maybe you
1:09
can get on him and challenge him at
1:12
halftime?
1:12
Yeah, I mean, uh, you know, we we both
1:15
love each other. Um, we know, you know,
1:16
we when we say something to each other,
1:18
we want the best for both of us. So, you
1:20
know, it's nothing personal and we don't
1:21
take it personal. So, you know, I can I
1:23
can get on him, he can get on me, and we
1:24
won't take it the wrong way. And that's
1:25
the type of relationship we have.
1:27
Has that always been there? Is that
1:28
something that maybe, you know, with you
1:29
playing more just kind of bonded over
1:31
the course of this season, you grow more
1:32
comfortable?
1:33
Yeah, I mean, I think it built over
1:34
time. Um, we've been close for a while
1:36
since the summer, but just, you know,
1:38
continue to be around each other and and
1:39
continue to grow our relationship. And
1:41
then uh yeah, like you said, like I get
1:43
I guess with a little bit more playing
1:44
time, I've been trying to be more vocal
1:46
and be more of a leader out there, which
1:48
you know, get uh Lee like getting on
1:50
everybody, but Seth in general.
1:52
Um how much are those words? I think it
1:54
was maybe Coach Lebo that film review
1:57
you talked about this Miami like the
1:59
guards. You guys, he kind of got on well
2:00
about your rebounding.
2:02
Um how do you think you guys have taken
2:04
that into account over the last few
2:06
games?
2:07
Yeah, I I think we did a a better job of
2:09
it tonight. Um Seth had a lot of big
2:11
ones late in the game. Uh Luca had was
2:13
it crashing and you know it's good to
2:15
get everybody on the boards. You know uh
2:17
they say it's not just a Henry
2:19
rebounding game. It's not just a Zaden
2:20
rebounding game even though Zaden got a
2:22
lot of awards tonight. But um yeah, we
2:24
all got to just pitch in and do our part
2:25
and crash the glass.
2:26
I know that shots haven't maybe
2:27
necessarily been falling for you lately.
2:29
How has working with Marcus, someone
2:31
who's kind of been through having to
2:32
lead the backboard as a freshman, helped
2:34
you kind of get through the stretch?
2:35
Yeah, I mean working with him every day
2:37
gives me a lot of confidence. Um, I have
2:38
a lot of confidence in myself and then
2:40
just getting the reps up and uh, you
2:42
know, knowing that when I'm out there, I
2:43
can trust my work. You know, no matter
2:44
if the shots are falling, I always think
2:45
the next one's going in.
2:46
Has he given you like a specific like
2:48
message or I guess something like stood
2:49
out to you from like what he said about
2:50
his time playing here that's kind of
2:52
helped you?
2:52
Uh, yeah. I mean, I think just uh the
2:54
similarities between us, we were
2:55
actually talking about it a couple days
2:56
ago. Um, he he went back after I think
2:59
the NC State game and looked at his
3:00
freshman year numbers and they were
3:02
almost the exact same as mine. So that
3:03
gave me a lot of confidence just to
3:05
know, you know, he was able to
3:05
accomplish all those things even, you
3:07
know, with the his freshman year not
3:08
shooting the ball the best, which I'm
3:10
not doing right now. So I mean, it just
3:12
got on me to stay confident and, you
3:13
know, keep going.
3:14
I want to say he also threw us
3:16
significant throughout like senior year.
3:18
I don't know if he at all with you.
3:20
No, he didn't say anything about that.
3:22
We were just comparing like our our
3:23
freshman year stats and it was it was
3:24
funny the similarities.
3:25
Was it kind of cool like what was
3:27
actually showing you that? Yeah, I mean
3:29
I thought it was just it was just funny
3:30
um to know that like he's been in my
3:32
shoes pretty much
3:34
today.
3:35
Uh it was kind of disappointing decision
3:38
last practice. I felt good. It didn't
3:40
hurt at all. So just being able to do
3:42
that kind of gave me confidence to play
3:43
today.
3:43
How do you feel what you did today after
3:45
missing two games? Uh, I definitely had
3:47
a couple turnovers that are unusual that
3:49
I shouldn't have and a couple rebounds
3:51
where I just need to be more active and
3:53
kind of plays where I got lost, but I
3:54
feel like after the first 10 minutes, I
3:56
kind of got back into the rhythm and
3:57
just got used to playing.
4:00
Tell me um just a little bit about just
4:02
the process returning to practice. I
4:05
know that you were sick with the flu and
4:08
then kind of the lower extremity issues
4:10
following you. Just what has the past
4:12
has it been a week? I can't even keep
4:14
the last
4:15
week or so. Been like
4:16
Yeah, it's been like a week and a half
4:17
since Miami. Yeah.
4:18
Yeah. I really realistically just rested
4:20
for kind of a week and kept doing
4:22
treatment and then I kind of did my
4:25
first uh running drills on Wednesday. It
4:28
felt good. Then we did a workout on
4:30
Thursday. That felt good. But then we
4:32
got I was able to build and did a team
4:34
practice yesterday on Friday. And then I
4:37
felt good for that too. So we felt like
4:38
we're good to go for the game cuz it
4:40
ain't really hurt. So between Miami and
4:42
Friday, you practiced zero times.
4:44
Second.
4:44
How many practices did you have between
4:46
Miami and Friday?
4:47
I had one workout.
4:48
One workout.
4:49
How long did you have your Achilles
4:51
taped up? I was told that you had like a
4:53
wrap or something. Was it a preventative
4:55
thing or what?
4:56
I've had that. Uh I feel like the tape
4:58
it just kind of preventative like that
5:00
just is normal. Like sometimes just I
5:02
feel like do take some load off it just
5:04
kind of help with the cones.
5:06
Any concern maybe it was a little bit
5:07
more serious and you'd be out for a
5:09
longer period of time? Uh, not really. I
5:11
feel like it was just kind of something
5:12
that was kind of nagging and then just
5:15
building on that. And then after Miami,
5:17
it kind of flared up in that game and
5:19
then I was able to get through that
5:20
game. But then we felt like we need to
5:22
take a little bit time off for me to get
5:24
back to the form I need to play at and
5:26
just be able to go 100% the rest of
5:28
year.
5:28
How do you feel presence on the court
5:30
changes things for other guys? Makes it
5:32
a little easier. Uh, I think it just
5:33
changes kind of the way that other teams
5:35
play against us cuz I feel like when I
5:37
was out they were going a lot of 5D so
5:38
we had to go a lot of isolation and it's
5:40
tough living going isolation the whole
5:42
game just being able not being able to
5:44
kind of Zen obviously did an amazing
5:46
job. player. I give him all the credit
5:48
that the way he had to be playing and
5:49
then he came in and he was giving
5:52
starter minutes getting double double
5:54
like the way he's been playing was
5:55
amazing but I just feel like overall as
5:57
team were scout they were kind of
5:58
switching and we weren't able to really
5:59
exploit the switches so it made it a lot
6:01
more difficult for us.
6:02
Next question real quickly you guys were
6:04
doubling Freeman a lot early. Do you
6:06
think that kind of took him out of the
6:07
game a little bit?
6:08
Yeah, I think we definitely little
6:09
disrupted him. you get frustrated and
6:11
then just once you get frustrated, it
6:14
kind of makes it easier for the defense
6:15
because you start taking a little bit
6:16
worse shots. You kind of maybe fade away
6:19
a little bit more. You're trying to
6:20
create more separation. He's trying to
6:22
get more his extra cuz he hasn't been
6:24
getting any shots all game. So, just
6:26
being able to frustrate him definitely
6:27
helped us.
6:28
How do you How do you feel physically
6:29
after playing today?
6:30
I feel great.
6:31
Yeah, I can't say nothing. It felt
6:33
great. It feel like much better than I
6:35
did before.
6:36
Felt right on that onehanded dump. What'
6:37
you see there?
6:38
No. Yeah, it felt great. It just I saw
6:40
that it was a bit be able to be drive
6:42
baseline because he was kind of on my
6:44
side and then just kind of took off.
6:45
On Zayen, earlier in the season, it felt
6:47
like he was just giving you guys minutes
6:48
towards the end of games, right? And
6:49
then he gets the opportunity to start a
6:51
couple games and really produces. How
6:52
much does it help now you that he's able
6:55
to be on the floor a ton and also be
6:57
able to produce in those minutes?
6:58
I think that just helps the whole team
6:59
out. It helps him out, the whole team
7:01
out, the coaches, cuz just him being
7:03
able to get that confidence. the way he
7:05
has had, the way he's played, he's kind
7:07
of shown and proven himself how good he
7:09
is and how much he can help the whole
7:10
team. So, I got to play less. He gets to
7:13
play more. We have more options. We can
7:15
go two by almost two men in the
7:17
rotation. We can play and me at the same
7:19
time on the court. So, just being able
7:20
to go give different looks and the way
7:22
he's playing, he did a really good job
7:24
on the rebounds today. So, just having
7:26
that.
7:27
He talked a lot about going against you
7:28
and Caleb in practice and how much that
7:30
has helped him. What have you seen out
7:31
of him in practice? I know Derek I think
7:33
last game or two games ago said that
7:34
sometimes he even outplays you guys in
7:35
practice like
7:36
yeah he's very annoying to play against
7:37
in practice. Yeah he's definitely done a
7:39
couple scouts and he's I think a lot of
7:41
times he's better than the scout player
7:43
he I'm scouting for cuz he is just the
7:45
way he can operate short rolls and kind
7:47
of when he gets the move he's really
7:49
good moves and he's very patient with
7:50
his finishes with good touch so he's
7:52
very hard to guard.
7:53
You had a you obviously had a great
7:55
chemistry the big to big passes to Caleb
7:57
you had one there to cheer and like a
7:59
whip pass toward the end. Can you talk
8:01
about that one?
8:02
I mean, yeah. I just kind of when they
8:04
were switching, they're switching with
8:05
Jiren. So, whenever they had like open
8:07
side, I was trying to just kind of like
8:09
pass fake or look away and be able to
8:10
create some space for him to get the
8:12
high low pass cuz I know he's going to
8:13
ask for it.
8:14
Donnie Freeman had 23 points when you
8:16
played them in Chapel Hill. He was held
8:18
scoreless in the first half. What
8:19
changed today? What was the mindset that
8:21
coach Hoover had and you guys on the
8:23
floor that forced Donnie to have a top
8:25
offensive day? I think when we played
8:27
him in Chapel Hill, he hit a little we
8:29
did a good job guarding him, but he just
8:31
hit a lot of tough midies. He hit a lot
8:33
of shots just over us. But today, we
8:35
kind of expected it, so we kind of made
8:37
the him pass the ball out, kind of
8:39
doubled him in the first half, try to
8:40
get frustrated, not let him get his
8:42
shots up. So, I feel like it just kind
8:44
of messing his rhythm up a little bit.
8:45
Coach just said in there that he played
8:47
you a little bit more than he would have
8:48
liked to. Was there a Was there a plan?
8:50
Did you have like a limit in place for
8:51
today? I know he played 26, but were you
8:53
supposed to be like held under 25 or
8:55
something like that?
8:56
Uh, we had a little limit, but that
8:58
obviously doesn't really matter. I felt
8:59
like it was during the game time. He was
9:01
asking me questions how I'm feeling, how
9:02
I'm doing. So, we were always talking,
9:04
trying to communicate, see how I feel,
9:06
and I was feeling great. So, I don't
9:08
think there's any reason to hold me
9:09
back. Feel good for Monday.
9:11
Monday.
9:15
Yeah.
9:15
I think you scored 13. You could have
9:16
had some more if you didn't miss those
9:18
free throws.
9:18
Yeah.
9:19
What turned it on for you? uh just
9:23
decided to be aggressive to stop [music]
9:25
playing like a little kid. Uh kind of
9:28
not really going through the motions,
9:29
but I was just out there. I wasn't
9:30
really assertive enough and I was kind
9:32
of just letting the game go by me, you
9:34
know, taking it for granted. So,
9:35
were there more driving opportunities as
9:37
well during that span or was it just you
9:39
taking it upon yourself?
9:40
I mean, for me, yeah, but but I also
9:42
like went to go rebound the ball more
9:43
and I was able to get out uh I was able
9:45
to start the break. Uh, and honestly, I
9:49
just passed up on too many opportunities
9:50
in the first half. So, you know, it's
9:52
probably the same. Uh, but I was much
9:53
more aggressive in that second half.
9:54
Hubert likes to say it's not a Caleb and
9:56
Henry rebounding team. It's a North
9:58
Carolina rebounding. Haven't always seen
10:00
that, but we did see that today.
10:02
He gave me a cookie. I played good in
10:04
the second half.
10:06
Sorry. What was your question? I'm
10:07
sorry.
10:07
Instead of just says we're not just a
10:09
Caleb and Henry team, we're North
10:11
Carolina. You guys North Carolina.
10:15
It's pretty simple. We decided to go
10:16
rebounds. We're a really good rebounding
10:18
team. I think this second half, just the
10:20
game in general, guys are involved. I
10:22
know Luca had like five first half
10:23
rebounds. I had I think all my rebounds
10:25
came in the second half. So, you know,
10:27
when when we're committed to it, you
10:29
know, we're really good at it.
10:30
One of the thing was diving play you had
10:34
in the first half with all your guys.
10:35
What is that like to to make one of
10:36
those plays and have all your guys
10:37
around you sort of pushing you and
10:39
yelling at you?
10:40
Uh, it's good. I mean, I feel like on
10:42
Tuesday, that's something we were
10:43
missing, like the energy aspect of the
10:44
game. Um, so I just want to come in off
10:47
the bench, you know, get some energy and
10:48
set the tone.
10:49
What does what does it feel like for you
10:51
now to earlier in the season you were
10:52
playing minutes more towards the end of
10:54
games, right? And now you're playing
10:56
consistent minutes and able to produce
10:57
with those. What I mean, what have you,
10:58
what are you seeing out there? What's
10:59
different now?
11:00
I mean, I just feel a lot more
11:01
comfortable. Um, I think my teammates
11:04
and my coaches are trusting me a lot
11:05
more. So, yeah, I know I just feel a lot
11:08
more comfortable on the court.
11:09
You think you're playing looser as well
11:10
out there?
11:10
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Play free without
11:12
mistakes. So yeah, I feel a lot better
11:14
on court.
11:15
You feel like you gained a lot of
11:16
confidence from those starts.
11:18
Yeah.
11:18
What what did you learn when you played
11:20
got so many minutes the last few games?
11:22
Yeah, I mean it was just my my team
11:23
needed me to step up. Um is what I did.
11:27
Um I'm thankful for my coaches trusting
11:28
me and my teammates trusting me and
11:30
then, you know, I'm glad to have Henry
11:32
back. You know, he's such a big part of
11:33
our team. Um and you know, I'm just
11:36
happy to be out there. What what what
11:37
are your emotions going from this role
11:40
you had beforehand to the more key role
11:43
off the bench that you had today?
11:44
I mean, I'm excited. I'm excited to see
11:46
where um it takes us as a team. Um I
11:49
know that's something we needed like an
11:51
energy guy off the bench. Um bench
11:53
production. Um a big a backup big. So,
11:56
you know, I'm excited to see where it
11:57
takes us.
11:58
How much do you feel like your
11:59
aggressiveness is is a part of what you
12:01
bring?
12:02
I mean, I feel like it's a big part. I
12:03
feel like um everybody should come in
12:05
the game and be aggressive.
12:07
Um but yeah, I mean it's just another
12:08
another piece of confidence that the
12:10
coaches have um instilled in me.
12:12
What about though? You had some minutes
12:13
with Henry.
12:15
Tell me about those.
12:16
No, I've been telling them all year that
12:18
I wanted to play with them. Um because I
12:20
feel like we both kind of bring similar
12:22
attributes to the game. But no, it was
12:24
fun to be out there. It was fun to be
12:25
out there with him.
12:26
Apologies for ask this, but just what
12:28
happens on the end with the the double
12:29
checks there.
12:30
Oh, man. I just I didn't like the way
12:32
that he um had fouled Jiren and um I
12:36
just kind of checked him a little bit,
12:37
but it was nothing. We we were just um
12:40
competing at the end of the day.
12:41
Was that the foul that Jiren didn't set
12:42
on the floor?
12:43
Yeah, I think so. Yeah, at the end of
12:44
the game.
12:45
Do you think that had something to do?
12:46
He seemed like frustrated all night. Was
12:48
that a point of emphasis for you guys to
12:49
kind of throw him off his game after
12:50
what he did? I mean, yeah, we was we was
12:52
doubling him all game, but um like I
12:55
said, I just didn't like how he fouled
12:56
Jiren at the end of the game. And I
12:58
mean, I I kind of checked him about it,
13:00
but it's all it we was just competing at
13:01
the end of the day.
13:02
In limited minutes, we got to go
13:04
in limited minutes earlier in the
13:05
season. Were you Did you feel any
13:06
pressure at all having to perform
13:08
because you knew you were only going to
13:08
be on the floor for a couple of minutes?
13:10
I mean, yeah, but um
13:13
yeah, I I feel like going in there, I
13:15
was thinking too much about making a
13:16
mistake just um then going out there and
13:19
playing. But now, I mean, I I go out
13:21
there and play free. So,
13:23
thanks everybody.
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