Derik Queen drops 4-word response to Maryland fans following major career announcement

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament West Regional-Maryland at Florida - Source: Imagn

Derik Queen has made a big decision ahead of next season, announcing that he will be leaving Maryland after one year with the Terrapins. However, the 6-foot-10 centre has taken to his social media to clarify information regarding the decision.

The Big Ten Freshman of the Year appeared on ESPN’s SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt to declare for the 2025 NBA Draft, leaving collegiate basketball after just one year at this level.

“I’m proud to say I’m entering the 2025 NBA draft,” he said in the video interview. "Once the season progressed and we got to the middle of the season, the end of the season, I felt like I was ready for it.”

Queen had been non-committal about his future, leading to claims that he might be entering the transfer portal. However, on April 2, the centre dispelled the claims via his X account.

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After declaring for the NBA draft, he once again reminded everyone that he stood by his words.

“Told y'all no portal,” he wrote on X, quoting the video of his announcement posted by the SportsCenter account.

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Queen has been projected as the 10th overall pick in ESPN’s draft rankings, after a great freshman year with the Terrapins.

He played 36 times, and averaged 16.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks. The Baltimore, Maryland native guided Maryland to second place in the Big Ten (14-6) and a 27-9 overall record.

He also helped them reach the Sweet 16 in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, putting away a buzzer-beating shot to win the second-round clash with Colorado.

Queen also earned the first-team all-Big Ten honors and Associated Press All-America honors in his freshman year.

Possible NBA destinations for Derik Queen

With Queen officially declaring for the 2025 NBA draft, he has been linked with several teams who need a center of his quality.

Some of the teams that have been mentioned include the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards.

One thing is certain, Queen will not be short of suitors, with some projections having him as high as the fifth overall pick in the draft.

About the author

Babatunde Kolawole is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over eight years of experience in the field with Canoncrested.com, Garbersports.com, LiveScore Bet Nigeria and Pulse Sports Nigeria.

Kolawole studied Agricultural Economics on the tertiary level but delved into sports writing after school. Over half a decade later, the experience garnered helped him land this role.

Historically, the Alabama Crimson Tide stands out as Kolawole's favorite team as he was drawn to their rich history.

As for basketball, JuJu Watkins is Kolawole's favorite current player due to how much diversity she has in her game, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar gets the nod for past players because of how he dominated with UCLA.

Kolawole has appeared on several TV and Radio shows as a guest analyst, and in his spare time, likes to watch movies (a sucker for the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and listen to a lot of music. He also loves to travel.

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Edited by Akshay Saraswat