Maryland freshman point guard Melo Trimble laughed Saturday at Xfinity Center when mention was made of the four free throws he missed in 13 attempts while scoring a team-high 20 points in a 70-58 win over Minnesota.
It seemed uncharacteric for Trimble, who came into the game shooting nearly 90 percent from the free throw line for the season and still leads the nation in free throws made (106) and attempted (121).
Asked when he previously missed that many free throws in a game, Trimble said, "I'm not sure. I'm surprised too."
It was also a little shocking to see Trimble miss so many shots from the field, particularly wide-open 3-pointers. Trimble suffered through a second straight poor shooting game, following a 2-for-13 performance in a double-overtime win at Michigan State by going 5-for-15 against the Gophers.
He was 1-for-8 on 3-pointers in each game.
Not that Trimble seems that concerned, given that he continues to figure out how to score and make plays to help the No. 11 Terps, especially in key situations. His only 3-pointer against Michigan State came in the first overtime. He also hit 12 of 14 attempts from the free throw line against the Spartans.
"Coach [Mark] Turgeon, he keeps telling me that one of them [a 3-pointer] is going to drop, I just listen to what my coach says," said Trimble. "Whenever he tells me shots are going to drop, I believe him … Coach Turgeon always encourages us to run our system, and if we play that way, I'm confident good things will happen."
It isn't surprising that Turgeon has given Trimble a virtual green light to shoot 3-pointers, considering that he rarely takes a bad one and made 5 of 6 against Oakland on Dec. 27 – three days before Michigan State – as well as 6 of 6 against VMI and 7 of 11 in a career-best 31-point performance against Arizona State.
Trimble, who is shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 35.4 percent on 3-pointers this season, will likely try to come out of his two-game shooting slump Wednesday at Illinois.
"What he's going through right now, I'm not concerned about it," Turgeon said on a teleconference with local reporters Tuesday. "I'd like to get his minutes down, that would help. We've got his practice minutes down, trying to keep him fresh between games. He's a good shooter. Hopefully he'll get out of it on this road trip and shoot better."
Trimble said Tuesday that he has worked after practice on a variety of shooting drills and spent time Monday with assistant coach Cliff Warren watching tape of the first two Big Ten games.
"I still have my same routine and the confidence in my shot," said Trimble, who is averaging a team-high 16.2 points, four rebounds and three assists while playing more (32.7 minutes a game) than any other Terp. "I am always watching tape to see what I can do to improve."
Given that the Fighting Illini rank near or at the bottom in field goal defense and 3-point shooting defense – having surrendered 17 of 44 attempts in two Big Ten games compared to Maryland's league-leading 8 of 44 – it also seems likely that Trimble will be successful.
He will certainly be encouraged by Turgeon to keep shooting.
"If he's open, I want him to shoot," Turgeon said. "I've watched him for three years, going on four, and when he's open, you want him to shoot it. I feel the same way about Jake [Layman] and Jared [Nickens] and Dion [Wiley] and Richaud [Pack]. If they're open, I expect them to step up and shoot.
Jake Layman can relate to what Trimble is experiencing. As a freshman, nearly half of his made field goals were 3-pointers (35 of 71). Unlike Trimble, he didn't do much else, getting to the line just 36 times in 38 games.
"My freshman year, in my head, I was only a shooter from the outside and so if my shot wasn't falling, I didn't know what else I could bring to the team," Layman said Tuesday. "I think it comes with maturity that you have to find other ways to score."
More so than fellow freshmen Nickens and Wiley, Trimble has.
"I think Melo is comfortable with driving to the basket too, while Jared and Dion, which they will eventually get comfortable with, as of right Melo is just a little further along," Layman said. "If he's not shooting well, he can go to his driving game and get to the foul line."
It also hasn't affected his defense and other parts of his game. Trimble had six rebounds, two steals, two assists and a block against Minnesota. He had three rebounds, three assists and a steal against Michigan.
Given how much Trimble has the ball in his hands, Turgeon will also live with the turnovers (seven in the two games). Trimble knows that at some point the offense has to catch up with Maryland's defense. Hitting a few outside shots will help.
"We need to play better offensively, but our defense has been a big part of our success," Trimble said. "When we have had some key runs on the offensive end, it is because we have made on defense."