Melo Trimble says he still feels like a kid, which perhaps partly explains why he returned for his sophomore season at Maryland but, in all seriousness, more likely informs his choice in socks for the recent Big Ten Conference media day.
Yes, those are "Simpsons" socks. Specifically, "Mr. Sparkle" socks, available at your local Urban Outfitters store for just $8.
"I want to stay young," the nattily dressed Trimble said at the Chicago Marriott O'Hare hotel. "I know it's not going to happen."
Some things are just beyond one's control.
A year ago, Trimble hid in the back of lines at practice. Then he helped lead Maryland to 26 regular-season wins, a program record. Now he's a Pan American Games veteran and Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year, front and center of maybe the most talented starting lineup in the country.
"I think he did what he had to do last year," men's basketball coach Mark Turgeon said. "We had a dominant leader last year in Dez Wells. It was clearly Dez's team. He did an unbelievable job leading our team."
And now? "Melo's going to have to step up."
Trimble was, in many ways, like the new kid at school last fall. He was shy, painfully so. His actions _ 13 points in his first game, 31 points in his fifth game, a win in each of his first seven _ spoke louder than words, but mainly by default. There wasn't much of a sample size.
"Last year, he barely said a word in practice. He wouldn't say a word for two months," senior forward Jake Layman joked. "He's come a long way."
The expansion of his role off the court will come with a likely contraction of his time on it. Trimble said he expects to play less than the 33.5 minutes per game he averaged last season. Even Turgeon predicted that his star guard is "not going to have to do as much this year."
More important is how he addresses his coach's No. 1 concern: communication. Trimble sees in good leaders the virtue of honesty, and in his new confidence, he is unafraid to share what he thinks.
"That's part of me being a leader: being honest with my teammates," Trimble said. "They want me to be honest with them. I want them to be honest with me. I think I have the ability to do it."
He is still, as Layman said, the "biggest jokester you'll ever meet." He is still, in his own words, "a very excited person." But now that Trimble's at the front of the line in practice, expectations have necessarily evolved. He can't be senior-year Dez Wells, but he can't be freshman-year Melo Trimble, either.
"To me, at the point, you have to be a vocal leader," said Turgeon, himself a former point guard at Kansas. "You can't lead by example at the point guard position. He's got to talk more. He's much more sure of himself today than he was a year ago at this time. I was sure of him, but he didn't know what he was getting into. So because he's more assured, he's more confident. And because he understands what lies ahead, he can be a better leader."
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