Derik Queen’s commitment to Maryland on Wednesday is enough to change the Big Ten program’s look on social media. The Terrapins went all-in on the royalty theme in the landing of the in-state target.
Queen is a huge addition to Maryland basketball, a five-star according to ESPN and the No. 10 player in the nation. Originally from Maryland, he is a 6-foot-9 center from Montverde Academy (Montverde, Florida).
He becomes the second commitment in the 2024 recruiting class for Maryland, which now ranks No. 39 in the nation according to 247Sports. He joins three-star guard Malachi Palmer, an under-rated playmaker from Maryland, as the two commits in head coach Kevin Willard’s recruiting class.
Queen is now a foundational piece for Willard’s class and he received a royal welcome from the program on Wednesday:
We have changed our bio pic.twitter.com/aHPbQp5T2h
— Maryland Men’s Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) February 21, 2024
This season has been a strong one for Queen as he averages 16.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. On the season, Queen is outscoring Cooper Flagg, a five-star forward who is the consensus top player in the nation.
Flagg is committed to Duke.
Montverde is the top-ranked program in the nation in the USA TODAY High School Sports Super 25 rankings.