Syracuse Basketball: 2024 prospect Derik Queen lands top national honor

A few months back, we detailed how Syracuse basketball was showing interest in elite 2024 player Derik Queen, and he just wrapped up a monster freshman campaign for his high school in Baltimore.

Queen, a 6-foot-8 power forward out of the Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore, recently was named the National Freshman of the Year by MaxPreps for the 2020-21 stanza. He also received inclusion on the MaxPreps freshman All-America first squad.

In an article by Jordan Divens, the MaxPreps national basketball editor, Divens wrote that Queen in 2020-21 averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists per contest. In one game during the recently concluded term, according to Divens, Queen tallied a ridiculous 56 points.

Divens says that selections to the MaxPreps freshman All-America group were made by considering a variety of factors, such as team accomplishments and individual production.

Queen had both in his freshman stint. Besides his individual statistics, Queen helped guide the Saint Frances Academy (15-1) to an undefeated 2020-21 regular season, and the team reached the Baltimore Catholic League championship game.

By the way, looking ahead, in the MaxPreps early top-25 ratings for next season, the Saint Frances Academy checks in at No. 14 nationally.

Syracuse basketball, hopefully, will offer stand-out 2024 forward Derik Queen.

Queen has performed well at a variety of events over the last several months, as we noted in a couple of pieces. More recently, at the Hoop Group’s Pitt Jam Fest in Pittsburgh, Rivals.com national analyst Jamie Shaw said that Queen attracted a lot of attention for his play.

Per Shaw, Queen registered 14 points in only nine minutes of competition during a blow-out encounter. That’s highly efficient. Shaw said in part, “It does not take long to realize Derik Queen has some special qualities about him. Standing 6-foot-8 and 225-pounds, the freshman just does not move like most others on the court.”

Numerous recruiting insiders have said that Queen is likely to be a five-star, top-20 player in his cycle when national rankings start to emerge for the 2024 class.

To date, he holds scholarship offers from teams such as Georgetown, Virginia Tech, Maryland, LSU and Arizona State, along with interest from the Orange, Florida State and Pittsburgh.

Expect many more offers to arrive for Queen, who suits up for the Baltimore-based Team Thrill on the AAU circuit. We’ll of course keep a watchful eye to see whether Syracuse basketball offers him.