Tag: Derik Queen

Montverde boys basketball completes undefeated season with win at Chipotle Nationals

Cooper Flagg and Montverde took down Paul VI to win the prestigious Chipotle Nationals and complete the undefeated season.

All season, Montverde boys basketball was, on paper, the best team in the league. Stacked with five-star talent, stopping the Eagles wasn’t as simple as stopping No. 1 2024 recruit Cooper Flagg — it was about stopping everyone.

The paper translated to the court. Nobody could stop the unit. The regular season came and went without a loss; the Eagles proved themselves once again in the prestigious Chipotle Nationals.

They took down Paul VI, ranked No. 4 in the Super 25, by a score of 79-63 to hoist the hardware and cap the undefeated, 34-0 season.

The offensive star today was Curtis Givens, who poured in 24 points off the bench. He made six 3-pointers and shot 7-for-11 from the field while adding three assists and three rebounds. A four-star LSU commit, Givens’ role of coming off the bench wasn’t because of his skill — it was a testament to that of the team, and his willingness to fulfill what the group needed most. His 26 minutes on Saturday were third-most on the team.

The most minutes went to Flagg, whose six blocks, one steal and eight offensive rebounds were as integral as his offensive performance. He had 16 points, but largely deferred on that end as he only attempted nine shots.

You can see in this short highlight clip that both a block and a steal from him led to immediate points:

Five-star Maryland commit Derik Queen, who won the McDonald’s MVP award last week, had a nice game, scoring 19 points, six rebounds, and four assists.

Paul VI was led once again by Darren Harris, whose superb Chipotle Nationals run came to a close with 16 points on inefficient shooting. He was electric in the opening rounds, but Montverde managed to hold him to just 5-for-14 shooting. It sealed a remarkable season for the Panthers, who went 35-3 and whose only losses were to Montverde (twice, including the championship) and Columbus (who fell to Montverde in the semifinals).

Montverde’s run of excellence sends its seniors out on a high note. The entire starting lineup was made up of five-star players, and with four-star Givens coming off the bench, they met — and perhaps exceeded — the immense expectations put upon them this year. The Eagles also set up a future run, with five-star sophomores Caleb Gaskins and Kayden Allen getting in on the action.

It’s Montverde’s seventh Chipotle (formerly GEICO) championship, and they’re hoping to be back next year for another run.
They join their sister Eagles as champions, who completed the three-peat earlier in the morning.

It’s a good day and a good year to be an Eagle.

Related: Montverde girls basketball three-peats as Chipotle Nationals champions

Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, future Rutgers basketball teammates, impress in McDonald’s All-American game

Rutgers basketball’s two future stars lived up to the hype at the McDonald’s All-American Game.

On Tuesday night, Rutgers fans got a preview of what the future will hold in the McDonald’s All-American game. Two highly regarded members of the 2024 class, Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, took the floor and continued to leave scouts in awe.

While Team West lost a close battle 88-86 to Team East, Harper and Bailey made their presence felt. In 25 minutes of action, Bailey scored six points while dishing out two assists. He also made an impact on the boards, hauling in five rebounds.

congrats to our boys MVPs Dylan Harper and Derik Queen 🏆 pic.twitter.com/4cUVXoRkDz

— McDonald’s All American Games (@McDAAG) April 3, 2024

However, his teammate Harper shined against some of the best high school talent in the country. In 25 minutes of action, the talented 18-year-old scored a team-high 22 points and recorded one steal. He was the only member of Team West to score more than 20 points. Tre Johnson who is committed to Texas also had an impressive night with 17 points.

Due to his play, Harper took home some hardware. He was named the game’s co-MVP, along with Derik Queen, who scored 23 points for Team East in 24 minutes of action. In the first half, Harper led all scorers with 14 points, showing why the future at Rutgers is bright.

While fans in Piscataway still have to wait a few months for Bailey’s and Harper’s collegiate debut, on Tuesday night, the talented duo showed why scouts across the country hold them in high regard.

Maryland basketball changes their social media bio after 4-star Derik Queen commits

Maryland basketball crowns the commitment of Derik Queen.

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:

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.

Prolific Prep battles undefeated Montverde down to the wire for second time this season

Cooper Flagg and Montverde beat Prolific Prep, but for the second time this season, the AJ Dybantsa-led team pushed them to their limit.

With 1:38 remaining in Saturday’s game between national powerhouses Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) and Montverde Academy (Fla.), Prolific Prep led the undefeated Eagles by two points.

Montverde has yet to be truly tested this season. Running out a lineup of three McDonald’s All-Americans (and arguably five worthy of consideration), the Eagles entered the game 22-0 with an average win margin of about 32 points per game.

With just half a minute left, Prolific Prep was as close to beating them as any team had been since Jan. 14, when the team faced, well, Prolific Prep. The score was tied in that game with about a minute remaining before Montverde grabbed it.

On Saturday, Prolific Prep did not score over the final minute-and-a-half as Montverde clamped its defense, forcing a shot-clock violation and an offensive foul. The Eagles went on an 8-0 catalyzed by a pair of field goals by Robert Wright III, a basket by Cooper Flagg, and then a pair of free throws by Derik Queen and Flagg. The final score was 78-72, a game that was even closer than the final indicated.

Liam McNeeley led with 19 points, while Flagg recorded 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals and blocks apiece. AJ Dybantsa led Prolific Prep with 18 points, four rebounds, and four assists, though Montverde forced him into six turnovers.

The finish was similar to that Jan. 14 game, when Prolific Prep led by as many as three points with less than three minutes to play. The Eagles went on a quick 5-0 run behind a pair of free throws and a Curtis Givens 3-pointer and closed it out with a 76-71 win.

Only one other team this season has come close to beating Montverde: No. 3 Paul VI, which kept the deficit within two points entering the final minute of the contest before McNeely hit a 3, Montverde forced a turnover, and Wright added another pair, per MaxPreps’ scoretracker. That made the difference, as the Eagles won by seven.

These games could mean a couple of different things. One is that Montverde is not a team that dominates only until it faces pressure. It’s a mature group that meets the pressure and has stayed strong against all of the top teams it has played so far this season.

The other is that Prolific Prep is darn near close to taking them down. The team knows it must play just about perfect to win. And twice, they’ve toed that line of perfection.

Montverde might not want to see them a third time.

With 15-0 record, Montverde Academy is dominating start of season

Montverde boys basketball, led by Cooper Flagg and Derik Queen, have won its first 15 games of the seasons over tough opponents.

Montverde Academy (Fla.) entered this season with sky-high expectations stemming from its seven rostered players ranked as three-star or better, four of whom have five-star ratings.

Fifteen games into the season, the Eagles are more than meeting them.

On Friday, Montverde’s 93-51 win over Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) was a blowout over what is arguably another top 5-to-10 team in the nation. The Eagles scored the first 12 points of the game before taking a 24-4 lead into the second quarter. They never trailed and raised their record to 15-0 halfway through the season.

The schedule has been as demanding as any other team in the country.

Several teams Montverde beat are under consideration for the USA TODAY Sports Super 25: Huntsville (Ala.), which is 21-1, suffered its sole loss to the Eagles. Wasatch Academy fell by 35 points. Montverde beat IMG Academy and Columbus, whose rosters contain four- and five-star players such as Darius Acuff Jr., Donnie Freeman, Khani Rooths, and Cameron and Cayden Boozer, and then Link Academy, who has about a half-dozen ranked prospects of its own. AZ Compass Prep managed to keep the score within a dozen before Archbishop Stepinac fell by 40.

(USA TODAY Network)

In the City of Palms Classic, Montverde played against what are likely the second- and third-best teams in the nation in Paul VI and Long Island Lutheran. In the semifinals, Montverde took down Paul VI 69-62 before outplaying LoLu and winning by 14 in the championship.

MaxPreps has 13 games worth of stats for Montverde in its system. According to the outlet, five-star senior Derik Queen leads the team in scoring with 16.8 points per game to go along with 7.2 rebounds in those games. Five-star senior Cooper Flagg is averaging 15.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.1 blocks per game.

Asa Newell, a five-star forward, is averaging 12 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game, while fellow five-star player Liam McNeeley is posting 13.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.

With the Eagles led by that group of highly touted prospects, they have run through their schedule with minimal challenge. Through 15 games, it’s unclear if any team can present a serious threat to this group.

(USA TODAY Network)