I sat down with UMD point guard, Romelo ‘Melo’ Trimble, to talk about his upcoming season, personal life, and hopes for the future.
At every Maryland basketball game, you can find Melo Trimble’s mother sitting in the stands cheering him on. His entire family has sat sideline, watching him chase his dreams since he was 11-years-old.
The Maryland native talked to me about how he first got into the game. Trimble was originally a football player, but wasn’t quite satisfied with the sport. I couldn’t help but laugh when he said, “the cold, rainy weather was just not for me.” So, he took his talents to indoor sports.
Trimble played basketball all throughout high school, and in 2012 became a Maryland Terrapin.
In just his freshman year, he took the court by storm.
“Nobody knew who I was.” Trimble said. “Then after a couple games here and there people started to recognize me and give me my props.”
He had an amazing season that earned him a selection on the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25. He was one of only five freshman chosen. However, his sophomore year did not live up to its expectations. It was a year that came with an off performance and an injured hamstring that took “a good month or two” to recover from, Trimble explained. His scoring average went down, and so did his chances of going pro.
“At that level, it’s a business.” He said. “You have to be able to adapt to that.”
Trimble kept the tone of the conversation light, and admitted that he just did not take care of himself, even after the injury. This was the contributing factor that lost him his spot in the NBA. But, Trimble is hoping for the best this upcoming year.
“I think we have a bright future for this season. It’s not gonna be easy, it’s tough.” Trimble said. “No one knows about us. No expectations.”
Trimble keeps it real. He admits that he used to fear failure, but has realized it’s just a mindset. He wants to make this season a positive one. Off the court, he says it’s very difficult to be a normal college student. But adds, it’s also what he signed up for.
“I signed up to play basketball. This is what I wanna do. So, I gotta sacrifice.” He said.
One thing Trimble does not sacrifice is his education. He tells me that even if he doesn’t earn his degree in four year, he plans to come back. The Communications major hopes to one day become a sports commentator or announcer, saying he wants to stick with sports his whole life.
I jokingly asked about his love life, and asked if that plays a role in his busy schedule at all. He laughed and said that girls will be girls. The only love in his life at the moment is his German Shepard/Husky mix dog, Jefe, who keeps him on his feet.
Besides Jefe, Trimble is surrounded by his teammates, and best friends. The team hopes to have a good season, with no expectations but a lot of positivity.
“I’m going to play with confidence, smile all season, never look back at a game played badly, not think about the NBA or anything… just think about the season that’s in front of me, and running my team.” Trimble said.