Maryland basketball coach Kevin Willard speaks on Derik Queen's three-point performance
Maryland jumped back into the win column after a home win over Nebraska on Sunday afternoon. It was a little closer than the experts though, however. The Terrapins got by 69-66 against the Huskers. Ja'Kobi Gillespie led the way with 22 points. But star freshman Derik Queen had yet another quiet performance in Big Ten play.
Queen went 0-for-4 from the field and had three points, along with three turnovers. In the past six games, Queen had been held under double digits four times and has committed 20 turnovers in that span. Head coach Kevin Willard spoke on Queen's performance against Nebraska, and he says everyone needs to relax when it comes to Queen and the criticism.
"I think everyone just needs to take a deep breath and realize he's a freshman going against fifth-year seniors," Willard said. "I mean, he's he's as talented of a player as there is and he's going to be in that three-letter league pretty soon. But he's also going through -- we're asking a freshman to do a whole lot in a league that's full of fifth-year Covid guys, physical guys. He's fine. He's going to figure it out. He's a smart player. He's playing a ton of minutes. He played a ton of minutes the other night at Northwestern. So he's going to struggle at times."
Queen is receiving near lottery pick projections in the 2025 NBA Draft, but NBA executives will need to see a little more from the former five-star recruit. The big body will have to perform down the stretch or his stock could continue to take a hit.
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Trent began writing and covering Michigan athletics back in 2020. He became a credentialed member of the media in 2021. Trent began writing with Sports Illustrated in 2023 and became the Senior Writer for Michigan Wolverines On SI for the 2024 football season. Trent is also the managing editor for Maryland On SI. Trent’s love of sports and being able to tell stories to fans is what made him get into writing.