Syracuse Basketball: 5-star target from Baltimore slotted in top-5 nationally

Recruiting service Rivals.com recently unveiled its first set of player rankings in the 2024 cycle, and a Syracuse basketball target is situated in the top-five overall.

Derik Queen, who hails from Baltimore but now suits up for a prep-school powerhouse in Florida, is a five-star power forward whom some analysts have likened to Orange legend Carmelo Anthony, based on Queen’s stellar mid-range game.

In its new 2024 ratings, Rivals.com has the 6-foot-8 Queen at No. 4 across the country within this class. Just for a little context, when ESPN put out its own updated 2024 rankings not too long ago, Queen checked in at No. 2 overall.

He is a consensus five-star prospect and the No. 1 power forward in the 2024 cycle. According to a bevy of national analysts and recruiting insiders, Queen is also expected to significantly contend for the top-overall spot in this class.

Syracuse basketball recently got in the mix for five-star forward Derik Queen.

During his freshman campaign for the Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore, Queen was sensational, and he captured all kinds of national accolades.

Now in his sophomore year, though, Queen is competing for the powerhouse Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla., which is arguably the No. 1 prep-school group nationwide.

One of Queen’s teammates at the Montverde Academy is 2023 five-star forward Kwame Evans Jr. The 6-foot-9 Evans, a top-five prospect in his cycle, also comes from Baltimore, and both he and Queen picked up ‘Cuse scholarship offers only in the past few weeks.

For numerous months, there were media reports here and there regarding Syracuse basketball coaches showing interest in Queen, but that interest, thankfully, turned into a formal offer.

According to media reports and recruiting services, Queen has other offers from teams such as Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Auburn, DePaul, Maryland, Texas, Virginia Tech, Georgetown, LSU and Arizona State.

Florida State, Louisville and Pittsburgh, among others, have also reportedly displayed an interest in Queen. Since he’s only a sophomore, I would imagine that many more big-time offers will arrive for Queen, including from blue-blood squads and other recruiting heavyweights.

In the 2024 class, besides Queen, the Orange has offered four-star forward Donnie Freeman. The 6-foot-9 Freeman, a sophomore at St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., is ranked in the top-25 nationally within this cycle, according to several recruiting services.