Maryland sophomore point guard Melo Trimble has withdrawn from the NBA Draft and will return to school.
The 6-foot-2 1/2 point guard pushed his decision right up against the 11:59 PM deadline on Wednesday for underclassmen to withdraw and return to campus.
In the end, it appears Trimble made the right decision as he failed to impress at the NBA Draft Combine. He is not currently projected to be drafted by DraftExpress.com.
“I am really excited to return for my junior season at Maryland,” said Trimble. “It’s truly special that I get to continue to play in front of my family, friends and our amazing fans. I’m looking forward to working out with my teammates this summer and I am excited for what we can accomplish. I learned a great deal through this experience and I am committed to working hard in getting better each day. I’m appreciative of all the support that I have received from Coach Turgeon, my family and my teammates throughout this process. I look forward to continuing my education and building upon the success that we have had at Maryland.”
A native of Upper Marlboro, Md., Trimble averaged 15.5 points per game over his two-year collegiate career and is only the second player in Terrapin history to record 500 or more points in each of his first two seasons, joining former Naismith Player of the Year Joe Smith.
“Melo informed me tonight that he has decided to return to Maryland for his junior season,” head coach Mark Turgeon said. “After gathering information throughout this process, I agree that this is the best decision for him. Melo is a very special person. He is a winner and his impact on our program has been immeasurable. Melo has an extremely bright future ahead of him both on and off the basketball court. We are excited that he will continue to pursue his degree and build upon his legacy in College Park.”
Because the Terps are losing Diamond Stone, Robert Carter Jr. and Jake Layman, Trimble knew if he returned next season it would be to a totally different team.
“Yeah, it makes it a lot harder,” he said at the Combine. “You’re not going to have any starters come back at all. For me to be the only starter coming back, it’s going to be something difficult. But if I go back I also have people that’s been there since I’ve been there, Monte [Dodd], Jared Nickens and Dion Wiley and also Cekof [Michel Cekofsky] and everyone’s going to keep getting better. So it is tough to think about how they’re not coming back.”
Still, he believes they can be strong against next season if he returns.
“We could be really good,” he said. “I think it’s good that people will doubt us because we’re not going to have all the returners back, but in my freshman year we had a lot of people doubting us and we turned it around and we made it to the tournament.
“With the hard work that they’re going to do this summer, and if I’m there that we’re going to do this summer and the fall, I mean anyting can happen.”
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