WASHINGTON — Before he arrived at Maryland, before he became a second-team All-American as a freshman, before he led the Terps to consecutive 27-win seasons and an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, before he became only the school’s second player ever to top 500 points in his first two seasons — a distinction John Lucas, Len Bias and Juan Dixon didn’t achieve — Melo Trimble was ranked as the No. 34 player of all the freshmen entering NCAA basketball in 2014.
That seems an astonishing résumé for someone who never was viewed as an elite college prospect. And yet, to some, his presence at Big Ten Conference media day Thursday rendered him as something of a failure.