Maryland guard Melo Trimble isn't on the Associated Press preseason All-American team this year, having missed out by a tantalizing one vote. Trimble finished with 26 votes, which was No. 6 among all players. The last spot on the team went to LSU super freshman Ben Simmons, who earned 27. Here's the paper team Trimble narrowly missed joining:
Player | Team | Votes |
Kyle Wiltjer | Gonzaga | 51 |
Georges Niang | Iowa State | 46 |
Kris Dunn | Providence | 43 |
Buddy Hield | Oklahoma | 40 |
Ben Simmons | LSU | 27 |
That's a worthy team, and it's impossible to gripe about anyone who made it. Even Simmons, who's never played a minute of college basketball, is such a freakish talent that it'd be sort of surprising for him not to dominate. The team's 65-member panel was also supposed to pick a team that could "realistically take the floor," so Trimble, a guard, was probably disadvantaged against a forward like Simmons.
Still, Trimble's got a legitimate case. Voters seem to clearly peg him as the No. 6 player in the nation (and bordering on No. 5), unless North Carolina guard Marcus Paige lost more than six votes because of a broken hand.
Here's everyone who got votes but didn't make the AP's team:
Player | Team | Votes |
Melo Trimble | Maryland | 26 |
Marcus Paige | North Carolina | 20 |
Malcolm Brogdon | Virginia | 17 |
Nigel Hayes | Wisconsin | 11 |
Ron Baker | Wichita State | 9 |
Skal Labissiere | Kentucky | 9 |
Fred VanVleet | Wichita State | 9 |
Perry Ellis | Kansas | 4 |
Wayne Selden | Kansas | 3 |
Yogi Ferrell | Indiana | 2 |
Jakob Poeltl | Utah | 2 |
Kyle Collinsworth | BYU | 1 |
Anthony Gill | Virginia | 1 |
Damian Jones | Vanderbilt | 1 |
Domantas Sabonis | Gonzaga | 1 |
Tyler Ulis | Kentucky | 1 |
Denzel Valentine | Michigan State | 1 |
Here's a prediction: Maryland's going to be better than Gonzaga, Iowa State, Providence, Oklahoma and LSU. Trimble will be Maryland's best player, and hence will find a way into that group when the AP votes again after the season.