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Three Maryland players are currently slated to be taken in this year's NBA draft based on DraftExpress.com's latest projections, published on Monday.
Freshman center Diamond Stone is currently projected as the No. 10 pick in the DraftExpress mock, which would give Maryland its second top ten NBA draft selection in the Mark Turgeon era; the first was Alex Len, who was taken 5th overall by the Phoenix Suns in 2013.
Sophomore point guard Melo Trimble, who flirted with jumping to the NBA after his stellar freshman year before deciding to return to Maryland, is listed as the No. 16 pick.
Senior forward Jake Layman, who also explored leaving early for the NBA last year, is projected to be taken off the board with the 38th overall selection. It should be noted that DraftExpress does not take team needs into account when doing its projections.
Stone has continued to raise his profile in recent weeks. He's scored in double digits in 16 of the Terps' 20 games this season, including 12 of the last 13. As a result, he's now averaging 13.2 points per game, as well as 5.5 rebounds. If Stone is projected as a top selection in this year's draft by season's end, it's hard to see him returning.
Trimble, the Big Ten's preseason player of the year, leads the Terps in points per game (14.5), and assists per game (5.6) so far this season. He's probably a good bet to go pro, too, although you never know.
Notably absent from this mock draft was junior forward Robert Carter Jr.. Many viewed Carter as another potential early departure for Maryland after seeing his post scoring, rebounding and overall skill set on the court this season. But if Carter doesn't like his NBA chances, Maryland will be a soft place to land for another season.
A lot can and probably will change in the coming months, but if Stone and Trimble continue doing what they have been doing this season, Maryland will very likely be losing a lot of talent and production to the NBA.