I finally put in my FutureCast for Queen last night. All signs are pointing to a commitment as soon as today.
While my gut feeling of late was that he could have been slipping away, the intel continued to stay the same, in that it remained a two-team race with Indiana with the Terps having a slight lead basically throughout.
This would be HUGE on so many levels, as the program really needs a big jolt at the moment and that is exactly what a commitment from Queen would provide. I also believe this commitment really helps them with portal recruiting as the focus can now really be on landing a starter quality point guard and another wing/shooter. They will likely be looking to add another big as well, but it isn't nearly as big of a need as it would have been without Queen.
As for his ability to play WITH Reese on the floor at the same time, I really don't see it as a major issue. The thing that is funny, is that in high school, I would have probably envisioned JuJu as a four and Queen as more of a five at the college level, but I think they can mesh as the exact opposites--Queen as a four and JuJu as a five. Queen has the footwork, vision, hands and shooting touch to face up and play some at the four, especially with Reese as the enforcer in the paint should he get beat on defense. Offensively, I think Queen can operate out of the wing and beat guys baseline.
As for what would be next? I think it is just a matter of time before they land Virginia Tech transfer and former DeMatha guard Rodney Rice. This is one that I figured would happen a couple months ago but he seemed to be taking his time and I was hearing G'town was really trying to make a push. But in the end, it seems his high school coach is going to win this one out.
Thinking out loud about some other possibilities in the portal come March, a few names off the top of my head that could be in play include Penn State point guard Ace Baldwin, LSU wing Tyrell Ward and Michigan point guard Dug McDaniels. I've heard Judah Mintz mentioned as a possibility to enter the portal, but I'm guessing Cuse will pony up to keep him and they actually have a decent young nucleus, still worth keeping an eye on. One other name I'll throw out is Harvard freshman guard Malik Mack. He's a local and has been brilliant this year for the Crimson. Have heard he could maybe be looking to move up to P5 level and Willard has a history of landing Harvard point guards (see Bryce Aiken). But there is enough talent there, you add it to Reese, Queen, and hope for big sophomore jumps from DHS and Kaiser and you could be back to having a pretty good team ready to compete again for an NCAA birth. But the portal will be critical. Have to land some big names and they have to be the right pieces.
But for now, landing Queen would have folks talking about Maryland again nationally in a positive light moving forward as they look to rebuild and get back to where this program should be.
While my gut feeling of late was that he could have been slipping away, the intel continued to stay the same, in that it remained a two-team race with Indiana with the Terps having a slight lead basically throughout.
This would be HUGE on so many levels, as the program really needs a big jolt at the moment and that is exactly what a commitment from Queen would provide. I also believe this commitment really helps them with portal recruiting as the focus can now really be on landing a starter quality point guard and another wing/shooter. They will likely be looking to add another big as well, but it isn't nearly as big of a need as it would have been without Queen.
As for his ability to play WITH Reese on the floor at the same time, I really don't see it as a major issue. The thing that is funny, is that in high school, I would have probably envisioned JuJu as a four and Queen as more of a five at the college level, but I think they can mesh as the exact opposites--Queen as a four and JuJu as a five. Queen has the footwork, vision, hands and shooting touch to face up and play some at the four, especially with Reese as the enforcer in the paint should he get beat on defense. Offensively, I think Queen can operate out of the wing and beat guys baseline.
As for what would be next? I think it is just a matter of time before they land Virginia Tech transfer and former DeMatha guard Rodney Rice. This is one that I figured would happen a couple months ago but he seemed to be taking his time and I was hearing G'town was really trying to make a push. But in the end, it seems his high school coach is going to win this one out.
Thinking out loud about some other possibilities in the portal come March, a few names off the top of my head that could be in play include Penn State point guard Ace Baldwin, LSU wing Tyrell Ward and Michigan point guard Dug McDaniels. I've heard Judah Mintz mentioned as a possibility to enter the portal, but I'm guessing Cuse will pony up to keep him and they actually have a decent young nucleus, still worth keeping an eye on. One other name I'll throw out is Harvard freshman guard Malik Mack. He's a local and has been brilliant this year for the Crimson. Have heard he could maybe be looking to move up to P5 level and Willard has a history of landing Harvard point guards (see Bryce Aiken). But there is enough talent there, you add it to Reese, Queen, and hope for big sophomore jumps from DHS and Kaiser and you could be back to having a pretty good team ready to compete again for an NCAA birth. But the portal will be critical. Have to land some big names and they have to be the right pieces.
But for now, landing Queen would have folks talking about Maryland again nationally in a positive light moving forward as they look to rebuild and get back to where this program should be.
