For Maryland basketball fans, the team’s season outlook just became much brighter.
Guard Melo Trimble, the two-time All-Big Ten performer who has directed the Terps offense the past two years, withdrew his name from the NBA Draft and decided to return to school for the 2016-2017 season, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. The Upper Marlboro native averaged a team-high in points (14.8) and assists (4.9) per game last season.
Trimble took advantage of the new NCAA rule allowing players to participate in the draft evaluation process without losing eligibility. He declared for the draft April 11 but did not hire an agent, meaning he had until Wednesday, 10 days after the NBA Draft Combine, to return to school.
The former McDonald’s All-American is the lone starter remaining from last season’s group, which finished 27-9 and reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2003. The Terps lost guard Rasheed Sulaimon and forward Jake Layman to graduation, while center Diamond Stone and forward Robert Carter Jr. left school early to enter the draft.
Even with Trimble, Maryland brings back less than 40 percent of its scoring from last season. The Terps return reserve guards Jared Nickens and Jaylen Brantley and a trio of forwards in Damonte Dodd, Ivan Bender and Michal Cekovsky.
There are some newcomers to the lineup, though, poised to contribute in the upcoming campaign, starting with guard Dion Wiley, who missed all of last season after tearing his meniscus in November.
Wiley, ESPN.com’s 52nd-rated player in the Class of 2014, averaged 4.1 points per game as a freshman and appeared ready to take on a larger role before his injury. He’ll likely provide Trimble with help in the backcourt, along with freshmen Kevin Huerter and Anthony Cowan, two four-star recruits who will begin their college careers this fall.
In the frontcourt, the Terps will welcome three-star forward Micah Thomas and forward L.G. Gill, a graduate transfer from Duquesne who averaged 10.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest. Gill is eligible to play immediately.
It appears to be a formidable group to build around Trimble, who attended the NBA Draft Combine and worked out with several teams before choosing to come back and play in College Park.
DraftExpress projected Trimble to be selected with the 38th pick before the combine, but the outlet dropped the 6-foot-3 guard from its mock draft after the event.
More than a week later, with the deadline to withdraw from the draft approaching, Trimble made up his mind.
He’d return to the Terps for his junior season.
