Ever since Melo Trimble announced last spring that he would forgo his senior year at Maryland to turn pro, the three players who started all or most of their freshman seasons knew they would have to make the crucial plays that almost seemed routine to the team’s former star.
Guards Anthony Cowan Jr. and Kevin Huerter had done it a few times at the start of the 2017-18 season, but it wasn’t until Sunday night’s 92-91 overtime win at Illinois that forward Justin Jackson, off to a shockingly slow start through the first eight games, joined them.