Queen becomes the first Terp selected to the watch list since Eric Ayala in 2021 and looks to become the first to be named to the Wooden Award All-American team since Greivis Vasquez in 2010.
Queen is one of five Big Ten players named to the midseason list as the Baltimore native leads the team with 16.0 points per game while shooting 56.2% from the field. His eight rebounds per game ranks eighth in the Big Ten while he’s recorded double figures in all but two games this season. Queen has finished with double-figure rebounds in five games as well, and is second on the team with five double-doubles.
Still, the freshman is coming off a tough road swing that began with a season-low four points on 1-of-7 shooting in 17 minutes against Washington after battling through foul trouble for nearly all 40 minutes. Queen responded with 17 points and five rebounds against then-ninth ranked Oregon, but Maryland’s efforts in Eugene weren’t enough as head coach Kevin Willard watched his team drop both West Coast contests.
“Maryland fans better get used to watching him, in my opinion, because I don't think he's going to be here next year,” head coach Kevin Willard said last month. “He's an old-school-type player, and that's probably the best compliment I can give somebody. He plays like a 50-year-old man. He sees the game that way. He's so smart. He doesn't have to go fast, he doesn't have to – he knows where everybody is. He knows every offense. He puts everybody in the right position. Put him in the NBA situation with a big lane and a bigger arc, I mean that kid's going to be special. I mean, he really is. So, I mean, you're watching a pro, and I've been around pros. You're just seeing what a pro looks like at 19 years old as a freshman. So it's not anything special, it's just he's a pro."
Full List:
Airious "Ace" Bailey | Rutgers
Johni Broome | Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr. | Florida
RJ Davis | North Carolina
Hunter Dickinson | Kansas
Eric Dixon | Villanova
Jeremiah Fears | Oklahoma
Cooper Flagg | Duke
Keshon Gilbert | Iowa St
PJ Haggerty | Memphis
Dylan Harper | Rutgers
Josh Hubbard | Mississippi State
Kasparas Jakucionis | Illinois
Tre Johnson | Texas
Kam Jones | Marquette
Ryan Kalkbrenner | Creighton
Alex Karaban | UConn
Chaz Lanier | Tennessee
Ryan Nembhard | Gonzaga
Derik Queen | Maryland
Maxime Raynaud | Stanford
Mark Sears | Alabama
Braden Smith | Purdue
Wade Taylor IV | Texas A&M
Zakai Zeigler | Tennessee
Related Links