Morning Power Bar: Melo Trimble’s Draft Regrets; Michigan-MSU Fire; Draft Deadline Discussion

This is a new weekly column for BTPowerhouse that will cover a variety of Big Ten topics that might not deserve a detailed breakdown, but deserve mention. It will be similar to a news roundup with more thoughts and analysis.

So, let’s jump into our Morning Power Bar.

1. Melo Trimble looks back on his NBA Draft decision.

As we gradually approach the deadline for college players to make their NBA Draft decisions, there will surely be a broad debate about whether various players should tay in college another year or try things out at the next level. This summer, it will be players like Iowa’s Luka Garza and Michigan State’s Xavier Tillman.

Well, one of the players that made this decision in the past was Maryland’s Melo Trimble. He was considered a serious pro prospect after his first season with the Terps, but opted to come back to campus for two more years. Many have wondered whether that was a mistake on Trimble’s part and he spoke about that recently on the One Stop Podcast, hosted by a few former Terps, and said the following:

“And looking back on it, of course I wish I would’ve left. But you know, it is what it is. It’s life. And I might be able to get [to the NBA] one day, I might not, but you know what I’m saying, I’m living life or whatever.”

So, yeah, that’s a pretty bold thing to say. It’s rare to hear a player talk about an NBA decision this frankly, let alone hear them admit they made a mistake. We often hear rumors and other stories about players who regret going pro so early, but rarely do we hear from the ones who regret holding off so long. So, this is an interesting thing to hear. And it should make Terp fans appreciate Trimble even a bit more. He sacrificed a lot to help Maryland basketball get to its current level.

But it does bring up a broader point as well. Many fans still operate under dated beliefs about the NBA Draft and whether players should declare. Players are making more than ever at the NBA level and the G League is better than its ever been. All of these circumstances make returning to campus even riskier now than ever before, and that doesn’t even mention the current pandemic. After all, who would pass up over $800K a year to sit in a dorm room for a cancelled season?

2. Shots fired.

Former Michigan State star Cassius Winston had a sit down interview with Sam Vecenie from The Athletic and had some interesting comments about his recruitment to Michigan. Our friends at Maize N’ Brew transcribed his comments, including the following:

“My mom was huge on education. That’s what is going to set you up for the rest of your life. She didn’t understand how big basketball was and how many things you can accomplish by being successful at basketball... When you got schools like Harvard, Stanford, and Michigan trying to pay for your education, she was like all on board for that. Me and my pops were like, “Nah that’s cool but, you know what I’m saying, we tryin’ to get to the NBA. That’s really where we tryin’ to go.’”

But Winston continued to consider the Wolverines and cut his list down to just the two arch-rivals in his home state. After visiting both Winston had made up his mind:

“At the end of my decision, it was Michigan and Michigan State, and Michigan was kind of just like a little too like soft for me.”

Whew. Bring that heat. Michigan and Michigan State have always been fierce rivals on the court, but you can see some of the fire there. Winston ended up finishing his career in East Lansing with a 5-4 record against the Wolverines, though Michigan might have the last laugh, as Michigan State lost its final matchup against its in-state rival with Winston.

3. Changing the NBA Draft deadline?

Our friends over at Black Heart Gold Pants had an interesting writeup on the upcoming NBA Draft deadline and what the NCAA can do to empower its athletes. Yes, we all know the NCAA has its issues, but it does get things right sometimes.

BHGP brings up some good points about why Draft prospects should have more options available this year in light of the pandemic. And it’s hard to disagree with a lot of their arguments. It’s definitely worth a read.

4. Major prospect trending up.

Michigan State’s had a heck of an offseason on the recruiting trail already, but it might be trending up even more in the coming weeks. The Spartans are pursuing Enoch Boakye and he recently got a bump to five-star status earlier this week. Don’t be surprised if Michigan State ends up cashing in on Boakye in the weeks to come.

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