Maryland Basketball Alum Derik Queen Emerging as At-Large NBA Rookie of the Year Candidate
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Maryland is one of the elite college programs to have produced multiple NBA Rookie of the Year talents. That said, it's been a while since a Terp alum won the award.
Guard Steve Francis of the Houston Rockets was co-ROTY in 1999-2000 after two years in College Park. Before that, forward Buck Williams - a three-year starter for the Terrapins - became the sole recipient for the then- New Jersey Nets in 1981-82.
If there is a pattern here, the next winner would be a one-and-done turned NBA star on the rise... and that possibility is currently playing out with center Derik Queen.
Queen made his mark for the Terps last season, averaging a team-best 16.5 points and 9.0 rebounds on his way to Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. His performance got him selected 13th overall by the Atlanta Hawks, who then flipped him to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Now, the Baltimore native is thriving down in the Big Easy, with an average of 13.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. He's been heating up lately, with four double-doubles in the past seven games - three of which came during Pelican victories.
Earlier this month, Queen recorded the first ever 30+ point triple-double by a rookie in NBA history. He's leading the league in both those categories among all rookies, and he also had the edge in total rebounds (239) and total assists (137) entering Thursday.
His individual success won't turn around New Orleans' dismal start, but it does at least put him into consideration for Rookie of the Year. Two main obstacles stand in his way: fierce competition and lack of complementary play on his team.
There's no question that topping the efforts of No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg and No. 4 selection Kon Knueppel will be difficult. The former Duke teammates have both excelled in their new offenses, with Flagg dominating in the paint and Knueppel shooting a 42.8% clip from deep.
But both men have also had to overcome the same challenge as Queen: injured teammates. Anthony Davis missed almost all of November for Dallas and just sat out the Mavs' last contest as well. Charlotte's leading scorer LaMelo Ball has been out for 10 games, while third year forward Brandon Miller has only suited up half the time.
Queen meanwhile has had it even worse. Zion Williamson has offered up the lowest offense output of his career in between injuries - though he has been much better lately. Veteran guard Jordan Poole has been limited all year by a nagging quad injury.
Queen has adapted well to an unfavorable situation, and signs point toward him getting more minutes as the season continues, but it will take more consistent scoring throughout the second half to push him into serious consideration alongside Flagg and Knueppel.
Yet if he pulls off the upset, it would elevate the Terps from an already exclusive club (one of 15 schools with multiple ROTY winners) to one that's even more so (one of six with at least three).
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Mike joined Sports Illustrated with over four years of sportswriting experience. He started off his career in Syracuse on the Orange football beat, where he was featured on CBS Sports' Cover 3 Podcast and local ESPN sports talk radio. After a brief stint reporting on Major League Baseball, he returned to the college landscape with Maryland On SI.