Syracuse Basketball: 5-star big man, No. 2 prospect, confirms SU interest

Five-star power forward Derik Queen from Baltimore, one of the best players across the country in the 2024 class, detailed in a recent interview that he has interest from Syracuse basketball.

I hadn’t previously seen a lot of mentions regarding the Orange coaching staff being involved with the 6-foot-8 Queen, so I was glad to see the ‘Cuse noted in his recent interview with Pro Insight.

Queen, who runs on the AAU circuit with the Baltimore-based Team Thrill, suited up in his freshman season for the Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore.

He put up some really impressive numbers as a freshman and won all kinds of national accolades. Queen, though, will compete as a sophomore for the powerhouse Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla.

The Montverde Academy is considered by the bevy of national experts as the top prep-school program around the country, and it should be ranked No. 1 overall in pre-season polls ahead of the 2021-22 stanza.

Syracuse basketball has interest in an elite forward from Baltimore.

In his Q&A with Pro Insight, Queen said that he has offers from Auburn, DePaul, Maryland, Texas, Virginia Tech, Georgetown, LSU and Arizona State, as well as interest from the Orange, Florida State and Pittsburgh.

Additionally, a recent tweet from Alec Lasley, the managing editor of TheHoosier.com, says that Indiana has offered a scholarship to Queen.

Up until recently, Queen was the No. 1 high-school prospect nationwide, according to ESPN. When this recruiting service recently refreshed its national ratings of the top-25 players in the 2024 cycle, Queen fell, but not far, to No. 2 overall.

ESPN also has him as the No. 1 power forward and the No. 1 prospect in Maryland.

In recent months, I’ve read articles where recruiting insiders and coaches have likened Queen’s excellent mid-range game to that of ‘Cuse legend Carmelo Anthony, who guided Syracuse basketball to its only NCAA championship in 2002-03.

While it’s encouraging that the Orange coaching staff is interested in Queen, his recruitment has a long way to go, and an abundance of high-major suitors will undoubtedly emerge for him.

Not too long ago, Syracuse basketball made its first offer in the 2024 class, to 6-foot-9 wing Donnie Freeman from St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C.

ESPN rates Freeman as four stars and No. 20 overall in this cycle.