FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Sports

Melo Trimble Is Out to Upend Expectations

Plenty of basketball players use doubters to get themselves motivated. Maryland's Melo Trimble has become a star, but he's still finding expectations to smash.
Photo by Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

As Madison Square Garden emptied out after a Maryland-Connecticut game on December 8, Steve Francis hung around the court talking with ESPN's John Saunders, friends, and random fans. Francis, a former Maryland star and nine-year NBA veteran, spent just one season at College Park but he remains a favorite among Terps supporters.

Francis had just watched another Maryland point guard put on a show that brought back memories of his own dazzling peak. Melo Trimble scored a game-high 25 points, made 14 of 15 free throws, and helped the Terrapins hold off a late UConn comeback to secure a 76-66 victory. Trimble may only be a sophomore, but he's already made a mark on a program that was foundering before he arrived.

Advertisement

Read More: What I Paid To Be A Division I Athlete

As a freshman, Trimble averaged a team-high 16.2 points and led the Terrapins to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since Mark Turgeon took over as coach in 2011. They finished with a 28-7 record, tied with Francis's 1998-99 team for the most victories in school history.

This season, Trimble and the Terrapins may even be better. Trimble is putting up All-American performances for a team that has a legitimate shot at a national title. Maryland (19-3) is ranked fourth in the Associated Press poll, thanks in large part to its star point guard, who is averaging 14.5 points and 5.4 assists per game and shooting 46.4 percent from the floor and 87.4 percent from the free-throw line.

"He reminds me of a floor general, like a Rod Strickland–type player, but with a little more explosiveness," said Francis, himself a three-time NBA All-Star. "He's a big guard. He can take a hit like Rod used to."

It's much too early to predict if Trimble, who like Strickland is 6-foot-3, will have as long a career (Strickland spent 17 years in the league). While DraftExpress projects him to be the 16th pick in June's NBA Draft, a move up in the rankings since the beginning of the season, ESPN's Chad Ford didn't list Trimble in the first round of his most recent mock draft. Those who've known Trimble since he was a kid have seen how he has taken perceived slights about his game and his personality and used them as motivations.

Advertisement

That facial expression says it all. Photo by Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

When Trimble joined the D.C. Assault AAU's 12-and-under team, coach Eric Moses remembers that he preferred blending in the background. His shy nature caused others to overlook his drive and ferocious competitiveness.

"I used to call him Poker Face because he had the same expression," Moses said. "I guess because he never really said anything, everybody thought that he wasn't going to be that good. He was just so quiet all the time. Nobody knew what to expect."

As Moses got to know Trimble better, he realized the young player wasn't any old wallflower. He was determined and enjoyed proving people wrong. He started as a 5'10'' freshman shooting guard at Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia, and held his own competing in the famed Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, which has produced dozens of NBA players, from Adrian Dantley to Victor Oladipo. Although Trimble lived an hour away in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Bishop O'Connell coach Joe Wootten said that Trimble arrived an hour before classes began and shot alone in the gym all through high school.

Trimble committed to Maryland early in his junior season, on the same day as his mother's birthday. Some coaches worried that Trimble, who had only recently switched to point guard, would have trouble adjusting to his new position. Turgeon, a former Kansas point guard who took over at Maryland the previous May, had no such doubts. He had watched Trimble play numerous times, visited him on a few occasions, and targeted him as an important player to turn around the Terrapins.

Advertisement

"I said to Melo, 'Look, if any other big school comes at you, do you still want to be at Maryland?'" Wootten said. "He says, 'That's my dream school.'"

Trimble kept his word even as he led Bishop O'Connell to a conference championship as a junior, received interest from other top colleges, and became a McDonald's All-American and top-30 national recruit. He also stuck with the Terrapins after assistant coach Dalonte Hill resigned in November 2013, a month after getting charged with driving under the influence. Hill, a former D.C. Assault player and coach, had known Trimble since he was an eighth grader and had been instrumental in recruiting him.

"I think people wanted him to have some uncertainty and be on the fence," Hill said. "That's just the way it is these days with these kids. Most of the time a coach leaves, they try to take a player or try to get back at the program. But I left with no bad feelings toward nobody at the University of Maryland."

"Yeah, after a while you stop noticing how everyone says their o's all weird." Photo by Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

Before the 2014-15 season began, five Maryland players transferred, placing pressure both on Turgeon, to prove he could handle his high-profile job, and on Trimble, to assume more of a leadership role on a team that was unranked in the preseason. Trimble exceeded all expectations, starting all 35 games, earning first-team All Big Ten honors, and helping the Terrapins finish second in the conference during the regular season. Only one freshman in school history scored more points in a season.

Advertisement

This past summer, Trimble served as a counselor at Stephen Curry's summer camp. Trimble worked closely with the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player and couldn't believe how much time Curry spent on getting better. "On the way back, he said, 'Oh, my goodness. I thought I worked out a lot and I worked out hard. I gotta work out again,'" Moses said. "He was surprised at how Stephen Curry worked. From then on, he was waking up and working out at seven o'clock in the morning. And then he was going back in the gym and working out again."

The extra effort has paid off. Since arriving at Maryland, Trimble has lost 20 pounds, improved his diet, and work habits, and proved he can be an effective point guard and vocal leader. He may not be the fastest or most athletic guard in college basketball, but few can match his ability to change speeds, make smart passes, get his teammates involved on offense, or convert in pressure situations.

With 9:20 left in the first half against UConn in December, Trimble came off a screen, drove to the basket, and passed back to freshman center Diamond Stone for an easy one-handed dunk. Two possessions later, Trimble stole the ball, dribbled up court, and made a layup while drawing a foul. He smiled widely and pounded his chest twice. "He's got swag, man," ESPN analyst Dick Vitale crowed.

Trimble has had numerous highlight-worthy plays this season, including a 25-foot three-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining that clinched Maryland's 63-60 victory at Wisconsin on January 9. "That was a big turning point in his career, I think," Hill said. "Coach said, 'Go ahead and take us home.' He gave him the keys and told him to drive us on home. It was good for him. I was so proud of him."

Trimble's supporting cast has also improved since last season. Stone is a potential NBA lottery pick, while guard Rasheed Sulaimon (who had been dismissed from Duke last year) and forward Robert Carter (a Georgia Tech transfer) have made immediate impacts. Last Thursday, the Terrapins had their most impressive win of the season, defeating third-ranked Iowa 74-68 despite a subpar performance from Trimble. He made five consecutive free throws in the final 17 seconds to clinch the victory, but he shot only 2 of 7 from the floor and finished with 11 points.

Still, if the Terrapins are going to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, they will rely on Trimble, a longtime Maryland fan and local kid who stuck with the program through some tough periods. "He was Turgeon's guy all the way through," Wootten said. "I think it's been a great fit. It's been a win for both of them."