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Maryland basketball center Derik Queen sent a warning to Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey after the Terrapins 90-81 victory over Rutgers. Coming off a loss in its previous game vs Ohio State, the No. 18 team in the country was in need of a bounce-back win. And that's exactly what head coach Kevin Willard's program did on Sunday, mainly due to its star center.
Queen had a game-high 29 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists in a dominant performance on both ends. In the postgame with Terrapins' reporter Alex Gary, the former 5-star recruit let Rutgers' freshmen duo know his goals for the rest of this season.
“So those two are my guys (Harper and Bailey). And obviously, we’re in the race for Freshman of the Year, but on the court, it’s competitive. And I just wanted to set myself aside to let them know that I want the Freshman of the Year.”
Derik Queen is helping Kevin Willard have a huge bounce-back year in College Park
Kevin Willard is in his third season with Maryland basketball. The former Seton Hall head coach's first year with the Terrapins was impressive. Mayland made it to the Round of 32 before being eliminated by the No. 1 overall seed Alabama. However, in 2023-24, the program took a dip with its second losing season of this century.
Fortunately, last year sparked a fire under this program, and now the Terrapins are 18-6 and 8-5 in the Big Ten Conference. Queen has led the charge, averaging 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. On Sunday, the Baltimore native put up more points and rebounds than Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper combined. This is surprising, considering the stellar season that both Bailey and Harper have had in Piscataway.
Maryland is currently a No. 6 seed in ESPN's bracketology. The remaining schedule includes two ranked opponents, No. 9 Michigan State and No. 24 Michigan. Maryland has a chance to earn its first top-five seed since 2016. Reaching that spot would be a huge step up for a program trying to climb back to the status that Gary Williams elevated it to.
Overall, Derik Queen's performance and postgame comments encourage the freshman to improve as the season progresses. Maryland has won five out of its last six games, two of which came over ranked opponents. Despite the recent loss to Ohio State, this team is progressing each week. That's a scary reality for the rest of the Big Ten and the country as we inch closer and closer to March.
