Spoke to a source last night who has had direct contact with Queen himself in the past few days and here is the latest info that I've gathered.
- With regards to Maryland, the source still believes it is between the Terps and Indiana as of right now. They said it is true that he says he wants to see what each team looks like over the next few weeks and wants to take a close look at how they use their bigs. It was also mentioned to me that in the case of Maryland, he wants to see if they did really well because he's heard that if Maryland got off to a hot start that Kevin Willard could be leaving Maryland for Louisville.
- With regards to Indiana, this source believes that the whole 'Liam McNeeley is his best friend, like a brother and his being at Indiana is helping the Hoosiers' is simply not true. They believe this is basically just a media narrative and there's nothing to it. He does like Indiana, but Liam McNeeley being already committed there will have zero bearing on his decision.
- With regards to Kansas, he remains in regular contact with the Kansas staff and while they seem to be possibly on the outside looking in, especially with Flory Bidunga already in the fold, they are not 100% out of it. With regards to the Jayhawks, it sounds like he has relayed to them that he is looking to see how Hunter Dickinson does in the early goings and whether or not he's projected as a first-round pick. If they believe he's coming back for a second season at Kansas, they basically have zero shot. If it seems like he's gone after this season, the door remains cracked for Kansas.
- With regards to Houston, from everything I've gathered, they appear to be completely out of it at this point.
- As far as when he will make a decision, this source still believes it is more than likely a decision will come at any time in the next month or so and he will not drag things out until the spring even though he can't officially sign until mid-April now. When exactly it will happen is still anyone's guess, but they still believe it will happen sometime during the season.
My take:
As far as the Willard to Louisville part of this, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. If he has a really great season at Maryland, why would he then want to leave for Louisville? I could see wanting to leave it if does NOT have a great season, but I would think if he had a 'great' season, Maryland would do whatever they had to do to keep him. I would also think this would obviously help recruiting at Maryland. So again, that part had me scratching my head a bit. It is probably coming from the Indiana staff, but the source wasn't sure where exactly it was coming from.
There was no mention of Derik wanting one thing, his mom wanting another or maybe even Mookie wanting something else. And this source usually has a pulse on that sort of thing. Makes me think that this is truly Queen's decision and he is genuinely struggling with it and trying to find what he believes is truly the right fit. Of course, the fact that Maryland had the final visit, seemed to be well positioned coming out of it and he decided he needed more time certainly doesn't seem great if you are a Terps fan, but it also doesn't seem like this is over for Maryland at all.
There was no mention of this, but given he's closely watching the play of Dickinson, I would think he's likely closely watching the play of Indiana 7-footer Kel'el Ware, also. He's had a strong start to the season. I would think his NBA Draft status would also likely play a role in Queen's decision. If he comes back to Indiana next season that would likely mean less minutes for Queen. So something else to keep an eye on. But there are numerous projections out there that have him currently in the first round and his play so far likely keeps him there.
So that is the latest. With the early signing period now in the rear view, he can't sign now until April, but getting a commitment in-season would be huge and is something I'll keep monitoring.
- With regards to Maryland, the source still believes it is between the Terps and Indiana as of right now. They said it is true that he says he wants to see what each team looks like over the next few weeks and wants to take a close look at how they use their bigs. It was also mentioned to me that in the case of Maryland, he wants to see if they did really well because he's heard that if Maryland got off to a hot start that Kevin Willard could be leaving Maryland for Louisville.
- With regards to Indiana, this source believes that the whole 'Liam McNeeley is his best friend, like a brother and his being at Indiana is helping the Hoosiers' is simply not true. They believe this is basically just a media narrative and there's nothing to it. He does like Indiana, but Liam McNeeley being already committed there will have zero bearing on his decision.
- With regards to Kansas, he remains in regular contact with the Kansas staff and while they seem to be possibly on the outside looking in, especially with Flory Bidunga already in the fold, they are not 100% out of it. With regards to the Jayhawks, it sounds like he has relayed to them that he is looking to see how Hunter Dickinson does in the early goings and whether or not he's projected as a first-round pick. If they believe he's coming back for a second season at Kansas, they basically have zero shot. If it seems like he's gone after this season, the door remains cracked for Kansas.
- With regards to Houston, from everything I've gathered, they appear to be completely out of it at this point.
- As far as when he will make a decision, this source still believes it is more than likely a decision will come at any time in the next month or so and he will not drag things out until the spring even though he can't officially sign until mid-April now. When exactly it will happen is still anyone's guess, but they still believe it will happen sometime during the season.
My take:
As far as the Willard to Louisville part of this, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. If he has a really great season at Maryland, why would he then want to leave for Louisville? I could see wanting to leave it if does NOT have a great season, but I would think if he had a 'great' season, Maryland would do whatever they had to do to keep him. I would also think this would obviously help recruiting at Maryland. So again, that part had me scratching my head a bit. It is probably coming from the Indiana staff, but the source wasn't sure where exactly it was coming from.
There was no mention of Derik wanting one thing, his mom wanting another or maybe even Mookie wanting something else. And this source usually has a pulse on that sort of thing. Makes me think that this is truly Queen's decision and he is genuinely struggling with it and trying to find what he believes is truly the right fit. Of course, the fact that Maryland had the final visit, seemed to be well positioned coming out of it and he decided he needed more time certainly doesn't seem great if you are a Terps fan, but it also doesn't seem like this is over for Maryland at all.
There was no mention of this, but given he's closely watching the play of Dickinson, I would think he's likely closely watching the play of Indiana 7-footer Kel'el Ware, also. He's had a strong start to the season. I would think his NBA Draft status would also likely play a role in Queen's decision. If he comes back to Indiana next season that would likely mean less minutes for Queen. So something else to keep an eye on. But there are numerous projections out there that have him currently in the first round and his play so far likely keeps him there.
So that is the latest. With the early signing period now in the rear view, he can't sign now until April, but getting a commitment in-season would be huge and is something I'll keep monitoring.
