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Melo Trimble declares for NBA draft

Maryland Terrapins guard Melo Trimble, a three-time All-Big Ten selection, announced Wednesday he will forgo his senior season and enter the NBA draft.

The 6-3 Trimble, who considered leaving after his sophomore season, averaged 16.8 points, 3.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds this season as the Terps lost to Xavier in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

"I am confident and excited to pursue an opportunity to play in the NBA," Trimble said in a statement issued by the school. "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 were able to create some very special moments for Maryland basketball.

"I want to thank Coach [Mark] 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."

The Terps won 79 games during Trimble's three seasons. He ranked second in school history in free throws made (503) and 13th in both scoring (1,658 points) and assists (403).

"Melo Trimble is a winner and helped change the face of our program," Turgeon said in a statement. "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."

Trimble, according to several NBA executives, is likely to be taken in the second round of June's NBA draft.