While Maryland men’s basketball guard Melo Trimble has struggled with his shot this season, he’s retreated to watching his freshman year highlights. In particular, Trimble watched his shooting mechanics in home games against Michigan and Nebraska in which he shot a combined 5-for-7 from the three-point line.
Trimble averaged a team-high 16.2 points per game in 2014 while shooting 41.2 percent from beyond the arc. The junior said he was shooting with confidence and wasn’t stressing over misses.
Entering the Terps’ contest against Jacksonville State on Monday night, Trimble was connecting on 31.1 percent of his threes. He still led Maryland in scoring with 17.2 points per game, but most of those came around the basket or from the free throw line.
To gain more assurance in his shot, Trimble has been arriving at practices about 30 minutes early to shoot with assistant coach Bino Ranson.
Trimble looked like his freshman-self against the Gamecocks, shooting 4-for-5 from beyond the arc and scoring 16 of his game-high 23 points on jump shots to lead Maryland to a 92-66 victory at Xfinity Center.
“I had no doubt in my mind that I would have one of these games to give me even more confidence shooting the basketball,” Trimble said. “It felt great.”
In Maryland’s 66-56 win over Saint Peter’s on Saturday, Trimble notched a season-low five points on 2-for-4 shooting. Turgeon said Trimble made the right decisions by spreading the ball, but he also would’ve liked the Upper Marlboro native to take over down the stretch like he’s done in past outings.
The sixth-year coach felt Trimble could’ve played fewer than 26 minutes if he put a cushion on the Terps’ lead.
“In previous games my shots haven’t been falling,” Trimble said. “I could’ve easily put my head down and just say, ‘Oh, I can’t shoot.’ I just stuck with it. I shot it with confidence and didn’t worry about the miss.”
Trimble again began Monday by passing the ball into the paint, and that left players open on the perimeter. Trimble was one of the beneficiaries, making all five of his shots in the frame.
In the final seven and a half minutes of the period, Trimble scored 12 of his 15 first-half points, which included three 3-pointers and a mid-range jumper. Maryland led by three before Trimble began his scoring barrage, but by the end of it, the Terps held a 42-29 advantage entering halftime.
With his squad leading out of the break, Trimble moved the ball around again. He was more aggressive when re-entered with about seven minutes to play. After missing his first three-pointer, Trimble nailed an attempt from beyond the arc before drawing a foul on a jump shot. By adding onto Maryland’s lead, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound playmaker had the luxury of sitting on the bench for the final three minutes.
“He’s what we knew he was,” Jacksonville State guard Greg Tucker said. “He can probe the defense off the pick and roll, make good decisions and he shot the ball pretty well tonight. He’s just a great player.”
Trimble was inconsistent last year, too, shooting 31.5 percent on threes. He noticed he hasn’t gotten enough arch on his stroke this season, but said poise fixes that issue. While Trimble wasn’t shooting well from long range, he’s made 46.6 percent of his tries from the floor while making 82.3 percent of his 6.58 free throw attempts per game.
Turgeon said with an explosive backcourt teammate in guard Anthony Cowan, Trimble has been getting more open looks than last season. He believes Trimble has been taking good shots all season.
Even after breaking out of his shooting slump Monday, Trimble plans to be back in the gym before practice Tuesday.
“They really put a lot into trying to guard Melo tonight, and we still got him good looks,” Turgeon said. “We’d all love that Melo goes 6-for-7 every night and makes 7-for-7 at the line. His numbers were incredible.”
