Melo Trimble, Diamond Stone declare for NBA Draft

Maryland point guard Melo Trimble and center Diamond Stone have both declared for the NBA Draft, according to a statement from the university. Trimble, a sophomore, will simply enter his name for consideration and give himself the option to return to school, while the freshman Stone will hire an agent and definitely turn professional.

“I am looking forward to taking advantage of this opportunity and entering my name in the NBA draft,” Trimble said.  “I am excited that the new rules allow me the chance to go through this process.”

“I want to thank the University of Maryland and Coach Turgeon for an unbelievable experience this past year,” Stone added. “Coach Turgeon really pushed me to get better each and every day.  My family and I spent a great deal of time discussing my future and we felt this was the best decision as I pursue my dream of playing professional basketball. I want to also thank all of the Terp fans and the students on campus who have been very supportive since the day I arrived to College Park. It means a great deal to me. I’ll always be a Terp for Life.”

The new rules regarding the NBA Draft allow players to actually go through the early stages of the draft process like team workouts and the NBA Scouting Combine, but also return to school since the deadline for withdrawing one’s name from the draft has been extended to 10 days after the combine in May as opposed to a random date in April. As a result, the number of players leaving school too early and going undrafted is sure to drop in the near future.

And Trimble made an excellent decision in taking advantage of this process. He averaged 14.8 points and 4.9 assists per game last season as the Terps reached the Sweet Sixteen, but saw his field goal percentage dip to 41 percent from 44 percent and his three-point percentage drop from 40 percent to 33.5 percent. He isn’t a first-round pick, but could possibly put himself into that conversation with strong showings at workouts and the combine.

Stone, on the other hand, is a near-lock to be a mid-to-late first-round pick. He has an NBA body at 6-foot-11, 255 pounds and averaged 12.5 points to go with 5.4 rebounds per game. He has a lot to learn about being an NBA center, but his ceiling is too high for him to not enter the draft and hire an agent immediately.

Stay tuned to Campus Sports for further updates on these players’ respective paths to the NBA!

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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports

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