Where does Derik Queen's dazzling debut rank among Maryland basketball's best freshmen seasons ever?
Somehow, Derik Queen's freshman season has exceeded the massive expectations that arrived with him as a five-star, locally grown phenom expected to star immediately and help lift the Terps back to the national stage. But where does his brilliant freshman season rank among Maryland's best freshmen ever?
Almost impossibly, Derik Queen's freshman season has exceeded the massive expectations that arrived with him in College Park. A locally grown five-star phenom expected to star immediately and help return Maryland to the national stage. Queen's done all of the above, and on Tuesday, he was rewarded with Big Ten freshman of the year honors.
Queen has seamlessly adapted to college basketball, showing off his unusually high IQ and versatility, starting all 31 games and averaging 15.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
Freshman of the year is always a major award, extra-impressive considering this year's Big Ten freshman crop, which includes four players projected as possible NBA Draft lottery picks this year. Queen beat all of those heralded newcomers, including Rutgers stars Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, Illinois point guard Kasparas Jakucionis and Michigan State's Jase Richardson. Bailey, Queen, Harper and Jakucionis all have been projected as top 10 picks.
Queen was also named first-team All-Big Ten team by the conference's coaches and made second-team in the media vote, the first Maryland freshman to earn those honors since Melo Trimble in 2014-2015.
Trimble was the last freshman to arrive during a down cycle and hoist the program back to national relevancy. How does Queen's big debut season compare to Trimble's and other top Terps freshmen from past years?
Let's rank the top five:
More background on Derik Queen
Queen was a freshman phenom in high school too. He teamed with Maryland frontcourt mate Julian Reese at the Baltimore athletics powerhouse before moving on to national power Montverde Academy (Fla.), where he teamed with Duke star Cooper Flagg and earned All-American honors. In the McDonald's All-American game, on a court with the nation's best high school seniors, he won co-MVP honors.Queen was also named to ESPN's freshman All-American team. Jeff Borzello wrote
"Queen (15.9 PPG, 9.0 RPG) is a throwback big man who would have thrived in the old Big East. He's the reason Maryland will return to the NCAA tournament after missing the field last season. Queen has been consistently excellent, leading the Big Ten in rebounding in conference play and anchoring a Maryland team that is formidable at both ends"
5. Jordan Williams
Although he wasn't rated highly, Gary Williams identified Jordan Williams early and went all-out to sign him. He showed why immediately, adding a reliable big man to complement the Terps' veteran backcourt, led by Greivis Vásquez, Eric Hayes, and Sean Mosley, averaging 11.8 points and 8.2 rebounds. Williams was a force on the boards and a reliable scorer with vacuum-like hands like Queen's. In one of the greatest NCAA Tournament performances by a Maryland freshman, Williams scored 21 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in an 89-77 win over Houston in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.One of Maryland basketball's most underrated recruits ever, he posted 10 points and eight rebounds in the second-round, but Maryland lost on that infamous buzzer-beater by Michigan State. He blossomed into a star as a sophomore (16.9 points, 10.2 rebounds per game), but left for the NBA after that season, a move that didn't work out for him and seemed to hasten Gary Williams' decision to retire.
4. John Lucas
As a freshman in 1972-1973, Lucas was an instant hit. He averaged 14.2 points and 5.9 assists per game and helped lead Maryland to a 23-7 record and a berth in the NIT Final, a far more prestigious accomplishment then because only 18 teams made the NCAA Tournament, where a UCLA team on the most dominant run in the sport's history won its seventh title in a row.Lucas later became the first Maryland player to earn first team All-ACC honors in three straight seasons and finished as Maryland's all-time leader in scoring (2,015) and assists (514), though those records have been surpassed by Juan Dixon and Steve Blake, respectively. Also an All-American in tennis and the No. 1selection in the 1976 NBA college draft, he spent 14 seasons in the NBA with the Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Washington Bullets, San Antonio Spurs, Milwaukee Bucks and Seattle SuperSonics. He later became a successful coach, including stints as the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers.
3. Derik Queen
Maryland has a rich basketball history, but hasn't had many as good as Queen. He's the first Maryland player to earn conference freshman of the year honors since Joe Smith in 1994, joining Buck Williams and Smith as the only Terrapins to win the award. Andy Kats of the Big Ten Network named him a second-team All-American on Tuesday, along with Donovan Dent (New Mexico), Mark Sears (Alabama) Walter Clayton Jr. (Florida) and JT Toppin (Texas Tech).Via Inside Maryland Sports' Ben Dickson:
"Queen finished the regular season averaging 15.7 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He shot 52.6% from the field and 75.8% from the free-throw line. The five-star recruit from Baltimore made an impact from his very first college game, dropping 22 points and 20 rebounds against Manhattan on Nov. 4. Queen posted 13 double-doubles during the regular season. He had four 25-point games, including a career-high 29-point showing in a 90-81 home win over Rutgers on Feb. 9. Queen was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week five times. During Big Ten play, he had the second-best defensive rebounding percentage and block rate in the conference. Queen ranks fourth on the Big Ten Conference all-kenpom.com team."
2. Melo Trimble
It's tough choosing between Trimble and Queen for this spot, but Trimble gets the nod because he had less talent around him and rescued the program from an extended drought.In 2014-2015, Trimble was the Big Ten freshman of the year and led the Terps to a 28-7 record in their first season in the Big Ten. His scoring ability and poise in clutch moments helped Maryland advance to the NCAA Tournament's Round of 32 after a three-year absence from March Madness. Using his strong driving ability to draw contact and pile up free throws (to the dismay of MSU coach Tom Izzo), he cashed in by setting a school record for free throws made by a freshman. His 16.2 points per game is the second-highest scoring average by a Maryland freshman.
Trimble ws picked First-Team All-Big Ten (by media) and Second-Team (by coaches) and led Maryland to a No. 4 seed in the NCAAs, its highest-seed in a decade plus. freshman year was the start of a standout career that saw him lead Maryland to NCAA tournament appearances in every year of his college career. He also gets extra points for almost singlehandedly turning the program's direction around.
1. Joe Smith
As good as Queen has been, there's no competition for the top spot. Smith was an immediate superstar in the 1993-1994 season, dominating in the paint against vintage high-level ACC competition to the tune of 19.4 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.1 blocks, winning ACC Rookie of the Year and First-Team All-ACC honors and setting the stage for an eventual National Player of the Year campaign as a sophomore.RELATED: Maryland basketball hitting a familiar recruiting spot for a 7-footer who studies Derik Queen
Smith declared for the 1995 NBA Draft and was selected No. 1 overall by the Golden State Warriors. During his rookie season (1995-96), he averaged 15.3 points and 8.7 rebounds, earning NBA All-Rookie First Team honors.
During his 16-year NBA career, Smith played for 12 different teams, including the Warriors, Timberwolves, 76ers, Bulls, Cavaliers, and others. His best statistical season came in 1996-97 with Golden State, where he averaged 18.7 points and 8.5 rebounds.
