We are likely in the final days of the recruitment of class of 2024 top-20 big man Derik Queen.
The 6-foot-9 Queen’s recruitment has been tight-lipped throughout, but here in the late stages it seems fairly clear where things stand.
Reports from all of the three main national recruiting outlets have come out in the last couple days, and they’re all saying the same thing about the Baltimore, Md. native who attends Montverde Academy in Florida.
First, no one seems to know where Queen is headed to play college basketball, but they all believe this is a recruitment that has come down to Indiana and Maryland. Queen also named Houston and Kansas as finalists.
Second, although he has not set a specific commitment time, Queen is expected to announce during the early signing period, which starts tomorrow and runs through Nov. 15.
So the bottom line is this — it’s a two team Big Ten battle for Queen, and it shouldn’t take long to sort it out.
Based on our sources, Queen and his inner-circle like the idea of playing for Mike Woodson because of his NBA experience and his success with Trayce Jackson-Davis. There’s a real connection between Queen, his family, and Indiana the staff that should not be underestimated. IU class of 2024 commit Liam McNeeley, Queen’s teammate and close friend at Montverde, is another factor working in Indiana’s favor.
But Maryland is home for Queen, and he has connections to that program as well. His Team Thrill AAU program is very influential, and like the Terrapins, are Under Armour sponsored, which itself is a Maryland-based company.
Rivals national analyst Rob Cassidy wrote the following yesterday, and it sounds relatively consistent with everything we’ve heard, although many believe there’s never been a true “front-runner” —
“Head coach Kevin Willard’s Terrapins have long been seen as the front-runner in the Queen sweepstakes, but Indiana has closed the gap in recent months, The Hoosiers landed Queen’s high school teammate Liam McNeeley last month and McNeeley has been publicly and privately courting Queen to Bloomington ever since.
Queen is expected to sign before the early signing window closes and could announce his decision any day now.”
The essence of that message is being echoed by the other national reports at 247Sports and On3. Two team race, decision coming soon. We’ve yet to see a wave of predictions by the national folks, so this truly does seem to be a recruitment that has people unsure, at least at this moment in the late stages.
According to the On3 Industry Average, Queen is a 4-star, the No. 16 overall player in the 2024 class, and the No. 2 power forward. McNeeley is ranked directly above him at No. 15.
If Indiana were to land Queen, their two-man class would be ranked right around No. 20 in the nation.
For complete coverage of IU basketball recruiting, GO HERE.
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