Five-star center Derik Queen committed to Maryland on Wednesday, he announced on social media. The No. 12 player in the 2024 recruiting class chose the Terrapins over Houston, Indiana and Kansas.
The 6-foot-10 prospect from Baltimore is Maryland’s second commit in the 2024 class alongside three-star Malachi Palmer. Queen becomes the second-highest-rated recruit in program history behind Diamond Stone. His commitment moves the Terrapins to the seventh-best recruiting class in the Big Ten.
Queen averages 16.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game with Montverde Academy this season.
With Queen off the board, only two prospects in the top 30 are uncommitted according to the 247Sports Composite rankings: No. 19 Karter Knox and No. 26 Bryson Tucker. Both are McDonald’s All-Americans along with Queen.
100% Committed‼️ #goterps pic.twitter.com/EeHK104fxO
— derik queen (@derikqueen1) February 21, 2024
Scouting report
A year ago I was in Laporte, Ind., and Queen had one of the most dominant performances I had seen over potential lottery pick Matas Buzelis, finishing with 34 points on 14-of-20 shooting. He was by far the best player in the gym that weekend.
Queen is one of the most physical centers in the class, but his dominance comes with grace and finesse. He has great hands and footwork that allows him to impact the game efficiently around the rim.
He isn’t the best athlete vertically, but his ability to use several moves in the post makes him a mismatch big. Over the years, his playmaking ability has developed. He can now pass out of double teams with both hands and facilitate from multiple spots on the floor.
He has the potential to play in numerous actions in the halfcourt via dribble-handoffs, make decisions in short rolls or simply start fast breaks once he secures the defensive rebound.
Queen projects as a three-tool center who can rebound, pass and score in the low post. Conditioning will need to improve, but an offseason in College Park will do the trick.
Maryland’s season hasn’t met expectations, but they have a promising foundation of young talent, provided they all choose to remain for the next year.
Moving forward, current freshmen DeShawn Harris-Smith and Jamie Kaiser Jr. — together with Queen in the post — form a versatile core with skillsets that mesh well. Those three could put Maryland in the thick of things in the Big Ten next season.
What’s next for Maryland
It took longer than expected but the Terrapins have landed their five-star center, so they will now shift their focus to the 2025 recruiting class and the transfer portal.
The DMV area is flooded with talent. Maryland coach Kevin Willard and staff have an opportunity to make the Terrapins great again. Maryland fans should keep an eye out for Overtime Elite star Efeosa Oliogu along with several other top 100 recruits in Cam Ward, Nyk Lewis, Acaden Lewis, Christian Gurdak, Chance Mallory and Jordan Scott.
It should be noted that five of Willard’s six recruits have been from either Maryland or Virginia: Noah Batchelor, Jahnathan Lamothe, Harris-Smith, Kaiser Jr. and now Queen.
(Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images)
