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Derik Queen makes bold prediction for Maryland men’s basketball
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- Derik Queen makes bold prediction for Maryland men’s basketball
Derik Queen made a daring prediction about his former program.
"Maryland's going to win the Big Ten this year in basketball," Queen told The Baltimore Sun while watching the Ravens practice at SECU Stadium on Saturday.
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The Baltimore native picked the Ravens to win the Super Bowl this year, too. Queen added that he's looking to attend two or three Terps games this season.
"I actually miss going to almost every game," Queen said while donning a No. 22 Ravens jersey with his last name on the back. "I just feel like I'm back at home again [here]."
Queen became a fan favorite in College Park during the 2024-25 season. The do-it-all freshman center led the Terps to the Sweet 16 in his lone college campaign, which included a memorable March Madness buzzer-beater to eliminate Colorado State. Queen scored 27 points in Maryland's season-ending loss to eventual national champion Florida.
Overall, he averaged a team-high 16.5 points and nine rebounds per game en route to Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors — becoming the first Terp to win the award since Joe Smith in 1994.
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Queen was picked by the New Orleans Pelicans 13th overall in the 2025 NBA draft, becoming the Terps' first lottery pick since Jalen Smith in 2020. He averaged 11.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game last season, landing him on the NBA All-Rookie second team.
Maryland lost Queen and its other four starters from the 'Crab Five' last offseason. First-year coach Buzz Williams had to build a roster from scratch.
The results were disastrous. Maryland's 21 losses last season matched a program record set in 1941.
But this offseason inspires hope for a turnaround. The Terps secured five-star recruit and Silver Spring native Baba Olatodun — 247Sports' No. 11-ranked player nationally in the class of 2026, and the top-ranked recruit out of the state of Maryland.
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Williams also added New Mexico power forward Tomislav Buljan to help stabilize a frontcourt that will return center Pharrel Payne, who was officially granted a medical waiver by the NCAA in June to play another season. Former top-five ranked national recruit guard DJ Wagner should help solidify the backcourt alongside emerging star Andre Mills.
"I've been building a bond with everybody. It's a great group of guys, everybody's real good people, everybody's funny, we're always joking and stuff like that," Wagner told The Baltimore Sun in July. "I built the bond with everybody, on and off the court. … We've been clicking very well during the practices and the workouts, just getting shots up together, just small things like that, that's been helping us click together. Off the court as well, just hanging out in the locker room or lifting, and just all the small things."
There's little doubt that Maryland will be drastically improved from last season. But winning the Big Ten — as Queen predicted — will be a steep challenge. The Terps have done so just once, when they shared the conference's regular-season title with Michigan State and Wisconsin in the shortened 2020 season.
Have a news tip? Contact Jake Kauderer at jkauderer@baltsun.com and x.com/jakekauderer .
