Recruiting Report: Derik Queen (2024)

It’s always critical to be very careful projecting how good a freshman will be at the high school level, especially when he is attending a school such as St. Frances Academy, who was considered as a top 15 team in the country last season. However, 2024 forward Derik Queen has given much reason to believe that he’ll not only be considered a standout among his fellow 2024 classmates in the DMV area, but the country as a whole.

Queen is a legit 6-foot-8 and comes equipped with guard-like ball-handling skills. So often in today’s high school ranks we see players of Queen’s stature try and fill the role at point forward, but it doesn’t come as natural as he makes it look. This summer with Team Thrill, Queen showcased not only his ability to put the ball on the floor, but also his vision on penetration and advanced IQ to find teammates for open looks.

"It was a fun and good experience because it was my first time getting to play against high school talent," Queen said as he reflected on this summer. "I learned a lot and it also helped me increase my speed. This level is played at a faster pace."

Queen is still very much growing into his body. He’ll get quicker and more fluid as the years pass, but the ability to shift his defender with a crossover or hesitation as his size and age are certainly something to admire. When he isn’t finding teammates with crafty no-look passes, Queen is finishing and using his length around the paint. He isn’t an explosive athlete at this point, but that should follow as his body continues to mature. Nevertheless, he is a plus rebounder with good timing on grabbing misses at their peak and pushing the tempo himself.

Queen was a highly-touted player coming out of middle school in the Baltimore area that plenty of schools were after. He settled with St. Frances who looks to continue their dominant ways, but will have much to replace with Ace Baldwin (VCU) and Jamal West Jamal West 6'5" | PF St. Frances Academy | 2020 State #334 Nation MD (South Alabama) now in the college ranks.

"St. Frances is home for me. I knew most of the guys before coming here so it was easy for me to pick St. Frances," Queen said.

Queen adds size and versatility to say the least in the frontcourt in which he’ll share with Maryland bound Julian Reese Julian Reese 6'8" | C St. Frances | 2021 State #109 Nation MD . There still isn’t 100 percent certainty on how many games we’ll see the duo play given the COVID-19 complications, but St. Frances regularly plays a national schedule, so I assume they’ll play more games than other teams in the area.

Very rarely do you see a freshman who hasn’t even stepped foot officially on a high school floor receive college offers, but Queen isn’t your normal prospect. In fact, with his high-level of play this summer, Maryland and Virginia Tech are already getting a head start as both programs extended offers.

"The offers mean a lot because I haven’t even played a high school game yet so it’s cool that I already got some offers as a freshman," Queen said.