Maryland’s Queen outshines Rutgers duo in a showdown of freshmen standouts

By Canadian Press on February 9, 2025.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — This was a game Derik Queen was looking forward to for obvious reasons — a showdown between the Maryland big man and two other freshmen who have received a lot more attention.

Queen scored a career-high 29 points with 15 rebounds, and the 18th-ranked Terrapins turned back Rutgers 90-81 on Sunday. With close to 50 NBA scouts credentialed, the 6-foot-10 Queen made by far the biggest impact of the three standout freshmen.

Dylan Harper did score 20 points for the Scarlet Knights, but 6-foot-10 Ace Bailey was sick and had only four.

“Them two is like, my guys, and obviously we’re all in the race of freshman of the year,” Queen said. “On the court, it’s competitive, and I just wanted to set myself aside and just let them know that I want the freshman of the year.”

Harper and Bailey are expected to be taken near the top of the NBA draft this year, and they’ve been impressive this season even as Rutgers has struggled as a team. Queen, meanwhile, has led Maryland into the AP Top 25.

Harper and Queen were co-MVPs of the McDonald’s All-America game last year.

“It’s always good to face off against Derik. We’ve been going back through it since like sixth, seventh grade, so we know each other pretty well,” Harper said. “Just playing against him, he’s a big force out there. He gets to his spots, plays the game the right way.”

Harper is a 6-foot-6 guard, so he doesn’t really match up with Queen. This was one game when Rutgers really could have used a healthy Bailey, but he sat a majority of the second half.

Queen blocked Bailey’s shot as Maryland took control of the game during the first half. Queen’s putback dunk gave the Terrapins a 69-62 lead in the second.

“He finally played against someone his own age,” Maryland coach Kevin Willard said. “He’s been going against, the last four or five games, fifth-year senior, fifth-year senior, fifth-year senior, senior. And he’s played well, but that’s a grind.”

By the end, Maryland fans were chanting “One more year!” — an indication that Queen also, like Harper and Bailey, is an NBA prospect.

For now, though, he doesn’t sound too worried about what NBA scouts are seeing.

“I’ve just got to go out there and try to win as many games as possible,” Queen said. “Play well and just keep winning games.”

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Noah Trister, The Associated Press