Baltimore native Derik Queen, one of the top high school boys basketball seniors in the country, announced on social media Wednesday night that he has committed to Maryland.
The 6-foot-10, 245-pound center, who spent his freshman year at St. Frances before transferring to Florida power Montverde Academy, was the last remaining uncommitted five-star prospect in the 2024 class, according to 247Sports’ rankings. His commitment is second-year Terps coach Kevin Willard’s biggest recruitment victory yet — and one of the biggest in program history. Nationally, Queen ranks No. 10 in the 2024 ESPN 100, No. 12 by 247Sports and No. 15 by Rivals. He chose Maryland over Kansas, Indiana and Houston.
Queen, a McDonald’s All American, is the Terps’ highest-rated recruit since Diamond Stone announced his commitment to the Terps in March 2015. The 6-foot-10, 246-pound Stone was rated the No. 8 prospect nationally. Queen is the first five-star recruit to commit to Maryland since Jalen Smith (Mount Saint Joseph) in 2018.
At St. Frances, Queen burst onto the scene with a banner freshman season that was condensed because of the coronavirus pandemic. He averaged 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks per game as the Panthers went 12-0 in the regular season and reached the Baltimore Catholic League title game. He was named MaxPreps Freshman of the Year and had offers from Maryland, Virginia Tech, LSU and Georgetown at that time in his high school career.
At Montverde, which is ranked No. 1 in the country by ESPN and SBLive with a 29-0 record against national competition, Queen is averaging 16.7 points and 7.8 rebounds — both team highs — to go with two assists per game for a program that also features Cooper Flagg, the consensus No. 1 player in the Class of 2024 who is committed to Duke, and three other top 25 recruits in Liam McNeeley (Indiana), Asa Newell (Georgia) and Robert Wright III (Baylor).
Queen would add size and talent to a frontcourt that has heavily relied on 6-9, 230-pound Julian Reese, a Randallstown native and St. Frances graduate, to produce points in the paint and defend the interior. Reese has amassed 14 double-doubles this winter and averaged 13.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while starting all 26 games.
Braden Pierce, a 7-foot, 230-pound freshman center, is redshirting this season and might need to bulk up to be more of a presence in the post. Mady Traore, a 6-11, 195-pound sophomore, is more suitable for the small forward position than power forward or center, and Caelum Swanton-Rodger, a 6-11, 220-pound sophomore center, has averaged 1.5 points and 1.4 rebounds in 24 games.
St. Frances’ 2020 squad featured eight players who have either played or committed to play Division I, including then-senior Reese. Coach Nick Myles was most surprised by how quickly and comfortably Queen fit in.
“His skill, love for the game and his personality is infectious and fills up the whole room,” Myles said. “As a freshman, with his size and skills, he was a generational talent from day one. He’s ready for the moment, built for it. He works hard, does all the extra stuff and I’m happy for him to get the chance to come home and display his skills at the University of Maryland.”
Along with three-star guard Malachi Palmer, Queen is set to join a Terps program that has struggled this season, dropping to 14-13 overall and 12th in the Big Ten after Tuesday night’s 74-70 loss at Wisconsin. Barring a late-season resurgance and a deep conference tournament run, it appears likely the team will miss the NCAA Tournament for the third time in five seasons, and star guard Jahmir Young and veteran forward Donta Scott are set to depart after exhausting their eligibilty.
Last year, Willard touted the additions of DaShawn Harris-Smith and Jaime Kaiser Jr., calling the four-star prospects “the best freshman class I’ve ever had.” Harris-Smith is averaging 6.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 36.3% from the field, while Kaiser is recording 4.0 points and 2.1 rebounds and shooting 26.1% from 3-point range.
This story might be updated.
