Maryland’s Trimble going to NBA
All-Big Ten selection will sign with agent to end his college career
Maryland guard Melo Trimble will declare for the NBA draft and hire an agent, the school announced Wednesday, thus ending his threeyear run as one of the most decorated players in school history.
The decision comes less than two weeks after Maryland's season ended with a loss to Xavier in the first round of the NCAA tournament. While it had long been speculated that Trimble would make the jump to the professional ranks this spring, his decision-making process was considerably more rapid than a year ago, when he waited until late May to announce his return to Maryland after testing the NBA draft waters without an agent.
Trimble had that option again this spring had he chosen not to hire rep- resentation, although it would've been difficult for Trimble to improve his standing in the draft while working around his academic schedule to attend the draft combine and travel to individual workouts with NBA teams.
Though Trimble's draft stock appears lower than two years ago, his legacy at Maryland is not in question. He finished this past season as a unanimous first-team all-Big Ten selection and is one of only four players in program history to record 1,600 points, 400 assists and 150 steals, joining Greivis Vasquez, Walt Williams and Johnny Rhodes.
Trimble is expected to start predraft preparations in Las Vegas in early April. His agent will be Mike Kneisley of The Neustadt Group, based out of Rockville, Maryland, according to a person with knowl- edge of Trimble's decision. Among Kneisley's other clients is the Phoenix Suns' Dragan Bender, the fourth overall pick in last year's draft and the brother of Ivan Bender, who just completed his sophomore season as Trimble's teammate at Maryland.
Trimble will enter a draft that is loaded with young point guard talent. NBA Draft Express projects five point guards to be selected among the first 10 picks. That service did not include Trimble in its most recent two-round mock draft, although he will have opportunities to rise through individual workouts and the draft combine if he's invited. While it remains unclear if Trimble would pursue professional opportunities overseas, he would likely land an invitation to an NBA training camp this summer if he goes undrafted.