Maryland men's basketball coach praises big man after dominant performance
Maryland Terrapins coach Kevin Willard knew he was getting a heck of a player when he secured the commitment of big man Derek Queen. Although Willard didn't know how fast Queen's talents would translate to the D1 level, the true freshman has quickly asserted himself as a force at the colligate level.
Queen put in a dominant performance against fellow Big Ten program Minnesota and led his team to a come-from-behind win. Queen dropped in a career-high 27 points, taking the game over when his Terrapins seemed sluggish and needed an extra push leading them to a 77-71 win. The 6-foot-10 250-pound center willed his team to a victory, a victory that pushed the Terps to .500 in the conference (3-3) with an over record of 13-4, good for ninth place in the Big Ten.
Coach Willard has high praise for Derik Queen after his 27-point career-high performance against Minnesota!@B1GMBBall | @derikqueen1 pic.twitter.com/UBrjVXEluY
— Maryland Men’s Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) January 14, 2025
The Terrapin hoops team is continuing to trend in the right direction as we're halfway through the 2024-25 season. They have won games they needed to win, and they seem fully capable of competing with the best that the conference has to offer. Recently they were projected as an 8-seed for the March NCAA Tournament. With good guard play and a dominant big man, the Terps could be a team that makes a significant run in the tournament. While there's still plenty of games left to be played, there's no question that Coach Willard has all of the pieces necessary to win in March - and Queen is a big part of that.
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Jerred Johnson has served in the United States military for over 23 years. He has a Bachelors in Marketing, a Masters in Management and is in the final phases of completing his Doctorate in Business Administration
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