Melo Trimble To Declare For NBA Draft
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - University of Maryland junior guard Melo Trimble announced on Wednesday that he is forgoing his final year of collegiate eligibility to enter the NBA Draft and will sign with an agent.
Trimble, a three-time All-Big Ten selection, led Maryland to its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017, averaging a team-high 16.8 points per game. He is one of 15 players to earn all-conference honors three times at Maryland.
"I am confident and excited to pursue an opportunity to play in the NBA," Trimble said. "I am proud of what my teammates and I were able to accomplish these past three seasons at Maryland. I developed many great relationships and friendships and together we able to create some very special moments for Maryland basketball. I want to thank Coach Turgeon for all of his support. He always believed in me. He challenged me and really helped in the development of my overall game. I am a more complete basketball player because of Coach Turgeon and the coaching staff. To stay at home and attend the University of Maryland is the best decision that I ever made and it was truly special to play in front of my family, friends and our amazing fans. Maryland will always be home."
Maryland won 79 games during Trimble's three-year tenure in College Park.
The Upper Marlboro, Md., native is one of four players in Maryland history to record 1,600 points, 400 assists and 150 steals, joining Terrapin legends Greivis Vasquez, Walt Williams and Johnny Rhodes.
Trimble capped his career ranked second all-time in career made free throws (503), 13th in scoring (1,658), 13th in assists (403), eighth in made three point field goals (177), 19th in steals (124) and boasted 92 games in double-figure scoring.
"Melo informed me that he has decided to enter his name in the NBA Draft," head coach Mark Turgeon said. "Melo Trimble is a winner and helped change the face of our program. More importantly, Melo is a special person and I thoroughly enjoyed coaching him. He is extremely humble and always puts the team first. Melo has grown as a leader and has done an outstanding job taking our program to new heights. Melo will be celebrated as one of the all-time greats in our program's history. We are very excited for Melo as he pursues his dream of playing professional basketball."
In 2016, Trimble led Maryland to its first Sweet Sixteen appearance in 13 seasons. He averaged 15.9 points per game over his three-year collegiate career and was 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.
The NBA Draft takes place on Thursday, June 22.