Derik Queen (born December 27, 2004) is an American basketball player. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's college sports in the United States, varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate ...

of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. He played

high school basketball High school basketball, also known as prep basketball, is the sport of basketball as played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. Top high school athletes often go on to play college basketball after ...

for

Montverde Academy Montverde Academy is a private college preparatory school in Montverde, Florida, United States, located in the Greater Orlando area. The school is widely known for its athletic programs, particularly soccer and basketball. History The school ...

and was a consensus five-star recruit in the 2024 class.

High school career

As a freshman, Queen attended Saint Frances Academy in his native

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. On March 12, 2021, he scored a season-high 56 points in a 99–55 win over Annapolis Area Christian School. Queen averaged 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks per game during the COVID-shortened season, leading the Panthers to a 15–1 record and an appearance in the

Baltimore Catholic League The Baltimore Catholic League (BCL), locally known as the Catholic League is a competitive basketball association composed of private Catholic high schools in the Baltimore, Maryland geographic area. History The BCL was founded in 1972, after ...

title game. He was named the MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year for his performance. Following the season, Queen transferred to

Montverde, Florida Montverde is a town in Lake County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,655 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Montverde was the location of a Native Ame ...

. He received limited playing time as a sophomore due to the amount of talent on the team, which won its second straight GEICO Nationals title with a 60–49 win over Link Academy. On December 9, 2022, Queen recorded his first

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

at Montverde, contributing 11 points and 11 rebounds during a 78–51 win over Oak Hill Academy at the Bob Kirk Invitational Showcase. On December 21, he tallied 13 points and a season-high 16 rebounds in a 79–45 win over Milton High School at the 'Iolani Classic. On January 5, 2023, Queen scored a season-high 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a 66–62 win over fellow national powerhouse Sunrise Christian Academy at the LaPorte Invitational. The next day, he posted 24 points and 10 rebounds in a 66–61 victory over

Wasatch Academy Wasatch Academy is an independent, coeducational, university preparatory school, college preparatory boarding school for grades 8-12 and post-graduates located in Mount Pleasant, Utah, Mount Pleasant, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 ...

. On February 3, 2023, Queen recorded 24 points and 13 rebounds to guide second-ranked Montverde to an 85–48 win over top-ranked Link Academy in a highly anticipated matchup between the two top-ranked teams in the country. However, Montverde suffered a 46–45 upset defeat to Sunrise Christian in the quarterfinals of the 2023 GEICO Nationals, which the

ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remain ...

crew described as "the biggest upset in the 14-year history of the GEICO Nationals." Queen had 10 points and six rebounds in the loss, which ended their season with a record of 23–3. As a junior, he averaged 11.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists on 61 percent shooting, receiving a

MaxPreps MaxPreps is an American website that specializes in coverage of American high school sports. The site is currently owned by PlayOn. Founded on August 1, 2002, the company has covered up to 29 sports, including boys, girls, and co-ed sports. ...

Junior All-American honorable mention. On November 25, 2023, Queen recorded 24 points and eight rebounds to lead Montverde to a 103–74 win over

Duncanville High School Duncanville High School is a secondary school located in Duncanville, Texas, Duncanville, Texas, United States, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The school is a part of Duncanville Independent School District. The school includes grades 9 through 12 ...

. In their next game, an 86–69 victory over

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a University-preparatory school, preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. The organization is set across over 600 acres (243 ha) and features programs consisting of sport ca ...

, he posted 25 points and 13 rebounds. On December 8, Queen tallied 20 points and nine rebounds in a 71–59 win over Link Academy. Queen also played for Team Thill in off-season competitions. In 2023, he led them to an

Under Armour Under Armour, Inc. is an American sportswear company that manufactures footwear and clothing, apparel headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. History 20th century Under Armour was founded on September 25, 1996, by Kevin Plank, a ...

Association (UAA) 17U spring championship after recording 22 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in their 69–49 title game victory over West Coast Elite.

Recruiting

Queen was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2024 class, according to major recruiting services. On October 27, 2023, he officially narrowed his list of schools down to four finalists:

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. On February 21, 2024, Queen verbally committed to play

for Maryland. It was one of the first programs to start recruiting Queen, having offered him a scholarship during the summer before his freshman year.

College career

Queen enrolled at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

in 2024. Following his freshman season, he was a first-team All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

selection by the coaches and won the

Big Ten Freshman of the Year Coaches and media of the Big Ten Conference award the following individual honors at the end of each football season. In addition, the ''Chicago Tribune'' awards the Chicago Tribune Silver Football to the most valuable football player of the confer ...

. In the 2025 Big Ten Tournament, Queen scored 31 points against the eventual Big Ten champion

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

in the semifinal. It was the most points ever scored in the tournament by a Maryland freshman and earned him an All-Tournament Team selection. In the second round of the subsequent NCAA tournament, Queen scored a fadeaway jump shot at the buzzer to lift Maryland above Colorado State, 72-71. It was his first game-winning shot at any level.

References

External links

Maryland Terrapins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Queen, Derik 2004 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Basketball players from Baltimore Centers (basketball) Maryland Terrapins men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans