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The Maryland men’s basketball team’s season ended last month without a lot of buzz. On Tuesday night, the Terps’ top recruit gave them a lot to look forward to next year.
Baltimore native Derik Queen, a five-star center prospect who committed in February, was named the co-Most Valuable Player of the prestigious McDonald’s All American Game at Houston’s Toyota Center after leading the East team to an 88-86 win over the West team. Queen had a game-high 23 points on 10-for-15 shooting, as well as eight rebounds and five assists — also game highs — and shared MVP honors with Rutgers-bound guard Dylan Harper.
“It’s definitely a blessing to come out here and be around some great guys, some talented guys,” Queen said. “Now, hopefully, me and Dylan will become one of those legends that they’ll remember.”
Queen, who started his high school career at St. Frances before transferring to Florida’s Montverde Academy ahead of his sophomore season, is believed to be the first Marylander to be named MVP at the high school showcase game since Prince George’s County native Michael Beasley was honored in 2007. The year before, Kevin Durant, a Washington native who played in Rockville, also received co-MVP honors.
The 6-foot-10 Queen opened the game’s scoring with the first four points and kept the pace up from there. He scored around the rim with post-ups, paint touches and put-backs ...
... threw an alley-oop to Cooper Flagg, a top NBA draft prospect, that didn’t seem to need the Duke signee’s help ...
... worked the pick-and-roll with the East’s guards ...
... and turned his three steals into easy offense.
Queen, the No. 13 overall player in 247Sports’ rankings for the Class of 2024, is Maryland’s highest-ranked recruit since one-and-done center Diamond Stone, a McDonald’s All American in 2015. Queen’s expected to sign his letter of intent later this month.
Queen is the first Maryland commit to take home MVP or co-MVP honors in the game since Adrian Branch in 1981.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Jonas Shaffer is a Ravens beat writer for The Baltimore Banner. He previously covered the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun. Shaffer graduated from the University of Maryland and grew up in Silver Spring.
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