Maryland star Derik Queen picked by Pelicans in 1st round of NBA draft

BALTIMORE — Three months removed from forging one of the greatest freshman seasons for Maryland men’s basketball, Derik Queen will try to do the same as an NBA rookie.

Queen, a 20-year-old Baltimore native, was selected No. 13 overall by the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round of the 2025 NBA draft on Wednesday night.

New Orleans acquired the rights to the pick from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for the No. 23 pick and an unprotected 2026 first-round pick, according to ESPN. The Pelicans drafted Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears earlier in the night with the seventh overall selection.

The 6-foot-10, 245-pound Queen, who spent one year at St. Frances before transferring to Montverde Academy in Florida, played center for the Terps, but might be more suited for the power forward position at the professional level. In New Orleans, he’ll join a roster headlined by Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, Trey Murphy III and last year’s first-round pick Yves Missi. The Pelicans recently acquired Jordan Poole in a four-player deal with the Washington Wizards.

Queen is the first Maryland player to get chosen in the first round since power forward Jalen Smith was taken at No. 10 overall by the Phoenix Suns in 2020. Queen is the program’s first NBA draft selection since Aaron Wiggins went in the second round (55th overall) in 2021.

Queen joined Diamond Stone as the only players in school history to enter the NBA draft after their freshman years in College Park. Stone was picked by the New Orleans Pelicans in the second round (40th overall) in 2016.

Trumpeted as the second-highest prospect to commit to Maryland after Stone in 2015, Queen met and exceeded those expectations. In his first college game, he dropped 22 points and 20 rebounds in a 79-49 thrashing of Manhattan.

That outing made Queen only the second freshman in college basketball since 1996-97 to register a 20-20 performance in his college debut, joining Kansas State’s Michael Beasley (32 points and 24 rebounds) in 2007. It was also the first 20-20 display by a Terps player since Joe Smith accumulated 31 points and 21 rebounds against Texas in the 1995 NCAA Tournament.

In an 83-78 loss at No. 8 Purdue, Queen scored 26 points — the most by a Maryland freshman in a true road game since Terrell Stoglin and Justin Jackson erupted for 28 points each in 2011 and 2017, respectively. In a 90-81 win against Rutgers, Queen introduced himself to 47 NBA scouts by amassing a career-high 29 points, 15 rebounds and five assists to become only the third freshman in the country since 1996-97 to finish with a 25-15-5 stat line in a game.

Queen will be remembered fondly for his fadeaway bank shot just before the buzzer sounded that sealed a 72-71 victory over Colorado State and propelled the Terps (27-9, 14-6 Big Ten) to their first Sweet 16 since 2016. He became just the fourth freshman in NCAA Tournament history to sink a last-second, game-winning shot and the first to do so since Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs in the Final Four of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

Queen averaged 16.5 points and 9.0 rebounds and totaled 594 points, breaking the previous Maryland freshman record of 582 set by Joe Smith during the 1993-94 season. He also compiled 12 20-point games, trailing only Smith’s total of 15. Queen led all NCAA Division I freshmen in double doubles with 15, was cited by the Big Ten as its Freshman of the Year, and was voted to the league’s first team.

Just before midnight on April 4, Queen appeared on “SportsCenter” with anchor Scott Van Pelt, a 1988 Maryland graduate, to announce that he was testing the NBA waters. Although the move might have disappointed a certain segment of fans hoping Queen might return for his sophomore year with new coach Buzz Williams, his decision did not surprise many.

Queen is the third player from St. Frances to be drafted and the second in as many years after Carlton “Bub” Carrington was chosen with the 14th pick last year by the Washington Wizards.

It didn’t take long for Queen to make an impression in Charm City. In a condensed 2020-21 season at St. Frances because of the coronavirus pandemic, he averaged 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots per game to lead the Panthers (15-1) to the Baltimore Catholic League championship game. He was named MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year.

St. Frances coach Nick Myles was in awe of the immediate confidence that came with his prized freshman.

“He was an offensive pro from Day 1 in high school — just one of the most gifted offensive players I’ve ever seen,” Myles said. “He was great to coach. Just a great kid, a great personality and so offensively gifted. He just naturally did things at his size that you don’t see from a 14-, 15-year-old kid.”

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Baltimore Sun reporter Glenn Graham contributed to this article.