Unofficial Ranking of UMD Men's Basketball Starters

By Jess Nocera on February 13, 2015

Layman. Trimble. Nickens. Wells. Dodd. Graham. With the last two switching on and off between games, these are the main starters of Maryland’s men’s basketball team. The team is currently ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll (the Terps are slippin’ a bit but I forgive them) and have a record of  20-5.

So I want to take sometime and really honor these athletic men who I obsess about on the daily.  Especially since they had a game on my birthday (the Feb. 11th game against Indiana) and got that W.

6. Jon Graham

This is senior Graham’s second season at Maryland as he transferred from Penn State after his sophomore year. He has managed to come off the bench and perform in several important and crucial games this season including against Michigan State and UVA. On Jan. 22 he tied his season-high with six rebounds and added six points at Indiana.

 

5. Damonte Dodd

In his second season as Terp, the sophomore Dodd is starting in more games and getting more playing time than his freshman year. A Maryland native, he plays the position of forward. He grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds in the game against Minnesota on Jan. 3 and as of Jan. 8 he was ranked fifth in the Big Ten in blocks per game.

4. Jared Nickens

Nickens is another freshman truly shining in his first college basketball season. Raised in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, Nickens plays guard/forward. He recorded a career high 15 points against Iowa State on Nov. 25.  He started his fifth straight game against Northwestern on Jan. 25 and also tied a season-high with six rebounds in that game.

3. Dez Wells

Recently changing his number to honor a former deceased teammates’ memory, Dez Wells has made a great name for himself during his three years at Maryland. Wells transferred to UMD after his freshman year at Xavier University. Wells is from Raleigh, North Carolina and he plays guard/forward for the Terps. Even though he suffered a fractured wrist earlier this season, he has made up for his missed games. He scored his 1,000-career point earlier in this season and posted a team-high 17 points against Rutgers on Jan. 14. On Jan. 25 Wells saved the day against Northwestern when he hit the game-winning putback with 1.4 seconds left.

2. Melo Trimble

Number two on the court and number two on my ranking of the starters. Sorry, but no matter how many 3-pointers Trimble scores in one game (and it’s a lot), Layman will forever be my number one. Trimble is one of the best, if not the best freshman guards in college basketball. A Maryland native himself, he played basketball at Bishop O’Connell High School. Trimble has been named co-player of the week as well as Big 10 Freshman of the week several times already this season. In the Michigan State game alone he scored 21 points in the first half and made Vine history with an amazing 3-pointer. On Jan. 25 against Northwestern Trimble posted 27 points on a career-high 18 attempts and added a career-high four steals. He has been named for several honors included to the USBWA Wayne Tisdale and Oscar Robertson Midseason Watch Lists and was recently named to Dick Vitale’s Midseason All-American Third Team.

1. Jake Layman

As I have publically and proudly confessed a million times, I have the biggest crush ever on Jake Layman. So obviously it goes without say that he’s my number one for the ranking of the starters. Layman is currently a junior (moment of silence because he only has one year left) and plays forward for the Terps. He is from Wrentham, Massachusetts and he used to play basketball at King Philip Regional High School. He has made several career highs this semester and keeps breaking them. He scored 23 points against Michigan State when the Spartans came to College Park on Jan 17.  Layman has also been named co-Big 10 player of the week. It is no surprise that both Layman and Trimble having been carrying the Terps to all their victories this season. Oh and obviously Layman gets two photos.

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