Melo Trimble didn’t exactly come into the 2015-16 season with few people talking about him. Everybody was talking about him and what he was able to accomplish last season for the Maryland Terrapins.
A year after helping lead the Maryland revival in the Big Ten, earning first team All-Big Ten honors and being one of the most hard-nosed point guards in the country, Trimble’s return to school, despite some calling for him to head to the NBA, marked the return of the Terps.
One thing that stood out last season for Trimble was his ability to get to the free throw line as a freshman. Finishing with the 11th-most free throw attempts in the country with 230, the upstart point guard showed his willingness to get into the paint, draw contact and get to the line at a James Harden-like pace.
With his ability to score and the arrivals of Rasheed Sulaimon, Robert Carter and Diamond Stone to the lineup, as well as the return of Jake Layman, all eyes were set on the Terps.
Despite the loss, after Tuesday’s game against North Carolina, that’s not about to change any time soon.
Were it not for the 22 turnovers as a team, Maryland may have pulled off the road victory over the Tar Heels. Unfortunately, those 22 miscues led to 23 points for UNC, which already had the crowd in its favor and the return of Marcus Paige to not only add another dimension to the team, but provided the Heels with an emotional boost all game.
Trimble, while having a great game in other aspects, had eight of those turnovers.
Even as a freshman last season, the most turnovers he had in a game was six and he had no more than four in any game after November. This showed that while Trimble is a great player, he can get rattled.
Joel Berry II harassed Trimble all game, knocking the ball out of his hands on a number of occasions that led to transtion opportunities. Berry was part of the problem, but Trimble didn’t help his own cause, either.
Sloppy, going-through-the-motions passes and losing the ball without much pressure helped that turnover total climb for Trimble. These are things a young player will deal with from time to time, and going against a pesky, physical and lengthy North Carolina defense did him no favors.
More from Hoops Habit
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
- NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers
Above all else from Tuesday’s game, though, Trimble proved that he’s ready, willing and able to take on the starring role most expected from him this season, and it has nothing to do with his scoring.
Last season, Trimble had just 12 games with four or more assists, topping out at eight against Winthrop. With his average, Trimble’s assist-to-turnover ratio was just 1.2-to-1. The national leader in AST-to-TO ratio, Monte Morris, finished with a 4.63-to-1 ratio, almost four times higher than Trimble.
To be the best, which is what many expect and what Maryland may need to get where they want to go — Houston in the final weekend of the season — Trimble needed to become more pass-first. He had the weapons to do it, he just needed to put the ball in their hands and make plays.
Through the first two games, that same reluctant passer shone through for the Terps, combining for just five assists against Mount St. Mary’s and Georgetown. Since then, though, Trimble has really started to flourish as an all-around point guard.
Over the last five games including Tuesday’s slugfest with UNC, Trimble has reached four assists or more in each game including a career-high 12 dimes against the Tar Heels.
Those eight turnovers that were so bad? Trimble made up for it. His court vision has improved leaps and bounds from last season. He’s trusting his teammates a lot more, and with good reason. There’s shooters and dynamic big men all over the Terrapins roster, all of whom will need to step up at times this season.
With Tuesday’s output, Trimble currently has 39 assists compared to 19 turnovers, a 2.05-to-1 AST-to-TO ratio, almost double what he put out last season.
With this current pace, he’d still finish well below where Morris — who’s expected to have another year of 4.0-to-1 or better — could finish, but he’s showing that he’s opened up his offensive arsenal, not so reliant on making his scoring numbers go up but helping everybody else improve theirs.
Pure point guards are most successful when everybody around them benefits. Trimble has the ability to slash and drive, but Maryland will be at its best when he’s more of a distributor looking for everybody else’s shot instead of his.
Next: Time For Wichita State To Panic?
Trimble will get his, that much is certain. His ability to distribute is what could set the Terps over the top. He’s not going to have games with more than four turnovers very often. He’s too good for that. Tuesday was more of an outlier than an indicator.
So far this season, Trimble has shown he’s adapted his game and trusting his teammates more. With more of that, it’ll be hard to argue against Maryland winning it all and Trimble being a Player of the Year contender.
Add us as a preferred source on Google