No. 1 freshman, with Syracuse basketball interest, to join No. 1 prep team

Syracuse basketball has reportedly shown interest in Derik Queen, a highly touted prospect out of Baltimore, and he is transferring to the No. 1 prep-school team across the country.

Queen, a 2024 five-star power forward, has elected to suit up for the 2021-22 season at the Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla., according to a recent article from MaxPreps national basketball editor Jordan Divens.

The 6-foot-8 Queen, who is the No. 1 overall player in his cycle according to ESPN, put forth a brilliant freshman campaign for the Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore. On the AAU circuit, he runs with the Baltimore-based Team Thrill.

Per Divens, the Montverde Academy has won high-school national titles in consecutive terms, and the Eagles are expected to be the pre-season No. 1 squad ahead of 2021-22.

Adding Queen, an exceptionally talented big man who has drawn comparisons to Orange legend Carmelo Anthony for his stellar mid-range game, will only bolster the Montverde Academy roster for the upcoming stanza.

Derik Queen, who has Syracuse basketball interest, is an elite 2024 forward.

In addition to being the No. 1 prospect in his cycle according to ESPN, Queen is also the No. 1 power forward and the No. 1 player in Maryland within the 2024 class.

Given he is about to enter his sophomore year of prep school, Queen has a long way to go in his recruiting process, but already he has received a handful of high-major offers.

Those offers include from teams such as Texas, Auburn, Virginia Tech, Georgetown, Maryland, LSU, Arizona State and DePaul. Queen’s offer list is sure to grow in the near future.

Besides the ‘Cuse, others to have reportedly shown interest in Queen are Louisville, Florida State and Pittsburgh, according to recruiting services and media reports.

As we’ve detailed in numerous recent columns, Queen collected 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists per contest as a freshman for the Saint Frances Academy.

Earlier this year, based on his freshman output in 2020-21, MaxPreps named Queen as its National Freshman of the Year as well as a member of the MaxPreps freshman All-America first team.

According to Divens, during his freshman term, Queen produced a season-best 56 points in a dominating 99-55 victory by the Saint Frances Academy over the Annapolis Area Christian School in Annapolis, Md.