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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Maryland center Derik Queen, second from left, shoots the game-winning basket against Colorado State guard Ethan Morton (25) during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Maryland center Derik Queen celebrates with teammates after making the winning basket for a 72-71 win over Colorado State in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.

The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday," the airport's official X account wrote.

A spokesperson for the airport said the pedestrian, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.

“We're stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”

The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”

The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now" before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”

Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.

“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”

Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.

Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted. It is expected to open later today.

The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident nor the name of the employee.

“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” the airline said. "We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”

FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)