Derik Queen, aka 'Baby Jokic,' makes his mark on March Madness

SEATTLE (AP) — Derik Queen’s teammates at Maryland call him “Baby Jokic.”

But while Queen is an obviously gifted big man, he's still something of a big kid, quick to joke with a broad smile that reveals his braces.

The Big Ten Freshman of the Year got Maryland to the Sweet 16 with an off-balance, last-second fadeaway jumper against Colorado State that gave the Terrapins a 72-71 final edge.

Next up for the fourth-seeded Terps at the NCAA Tournament is a trip to San Francisco to play No. 1 Florida.

“I feel like everybody calls him Baby Jokic because he definitely plays the low post, gets everybody involved,” said teammate DeShawn Harris-Smith. “He's my roommate, he's probably my closest friend on the team, so I love playing with him, being part of his journey.”

Queen, who is 6-foot-10 and a solid 250 pounds, is the anchor of Maryland's starting group, nicknamed the “Crab Five," a play on the old Michigan Fab Five of the early 1990s and a nod to Maryland's famous food.

The Crab Five have started every game for the Terps since Nov. 19 and all of them averaged in double figures heading into the tournament.

His teammates all talk about Queen's joy for the game and life in general.

“He just has such a great energy about him,” Terps coach Kevin Willard said. “When you're around him you're going to smile, you're going to laugh, you're going to hug him.”

In the victory over the Rams, Queen finished with 17 points, Rodney Rice scored 16 and Julian Reese had 15 points and 11 rebounds as each of Maryland’s starters scored in double figures. The bench had just two points.

Queen proudly proclaimed that the highlight-reel buzzer beater against the Rams was his first game-winner. Willard said he went to a timeout and and asked who wanted the ball for the final play, and of course it was Queen.

“So it was just a simple zipper, give him the ball and let him go to work,” Willard said.

After Queen was mobbed by his teammates for the obligatory post-game celebration, he was asked by a sideline reporter where the confidence came from.

“So, I think I'm from Baltimore, that's why,” he said.

Queen is indeed a proud Baltimore native. After turning heads as a freshman at St. Frances Academy, he left the city to play for the prestigious Montverde Academy in Florida.

But he returned to his home state to play for Willard. Over the season, Queen has averaged 16.2 points and 9.1 rebounds.

“A lot of people don't really make it out of Baltimore, and then I just wanted to come here and make a change,” Queen said. “And hopefully I did make a change, so coach Willard can keep getting a lot of local kids.”

It's too soon to say whether Queen will make the quick leap to the NBA — he's got a tournament to focus on — but the final shot against the Rams certainly increased his possibilities, even as a lottery pick.

For now, it's all about Florida, which rallied to a 77-75 victory over UConn on Sunday, ending the Huskies' pursuit of a third straight title.

Florida (32-4) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017. The Terps (27-8) haven't been this far in the tournament since 2016.

There's many reasons to compare the 20-year-old Queen to Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, with his adept passing, ball control, defense and ability to make shots from all over the floor.

So the nickname wasn't that much of a stretch, but it was solidified when WNBA star Angel Reese, sister of Maryland's Julian Reese, said on social media: “Derik is literally baby Jokic omg.”

And, as it turned out, Queen can also make game-winners.

“When he said that he wanted the ball and the way he said it, I knew something good was going to happen because good things happen to great people,” Willard said, “and he is a great, great person.

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