Official visit date: Friday, October 20 (He also took an official visit to Maryland back on Oct. 1, 2022)
Schools still in the running: Maryland, Houston, Indiana
Having yet to secure a commitment for 2024, Friday marks a monumental day for Maryland head coach Kevin Willard and the rest of the Terps staff, as five-star big man Derik Queen is set to begin his final official visit before he is expected to announce his college decision sometime in the next few weeks.
In terms of importance, Queen's upcoming visit to College Park is by far the biggest since Willard took over the program and is perhaps the biggest since Maryland landed another five-star big man, Diamond Stone, back in 2015.
Willard, associate head coach David Cox and the rest of the Maryland staff have made Queen the top priority throughout the spring and summer and into the fall, frequently seen front and center for his Under Armour Association games and making regular trips down to Florida to watch him workout at Montverde Academy.
Queen should already be plenty familiar with the Terps program and the campus, having previously taken an official visit to College Park last October while current George Mason head coach Tony Skinn was still on staff at Maryland and at the time Queen's lead recruiter.
Queen also took a pair of official visits to finalist Indiana, having visited the Bloomington campus last September before taking a second official visit last month.
Two things the Hoosiers have working in their favor are the commitment this week of fellow five-star big man and Montverde teammate Liam McNeeley, a close friend of Queen's, as well as multiple robust NIL collectives.
Queen most recently took an official visit to Houston during the first weekend of October, where head coach Kelvin Sampson has quietly gotten the Cougars squarely in the mix for the Baltimore big man.
Sampson coached former Rivals five-star and McDonald's All-American Jarace Walker last season, helping him to become the AAC Freshman of the Year and the No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Walker, although from Pennsylvania, was born in Baltimore and developed a friendship with Queen as they both played for Mookie Dobbins' Team Thrill AAU program.
Speaking of Team Thrill, Queen has plenty of ties to the Terps, as well.
Queen played with another former Team Thrill big man and current Terp Julian Reese at Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances before transferring to Montverde. The Terps also have two other Team Thrill alum on the roster in sophomore wing Noah Bachelor and seven-foot New Mexico State transfer Mady Traore.
Ultimately, NIL will likely play a significant part in landing Queen and Willard has done everything in his power to make sure the Terps are able to come out on top in this recruitment. That includes even sacrificing the chance at other top targets in the 2024 class in order to make sure they are best positioned to land the 6-foot-10, 245-pounder.
The Terps have been the perceived leaders of the Derik Queen sweepstakes basically since the beginning of his recruitment. And to this day, nothing has really changed to make most folks feel any different. Still, Maryland will need to knock his final official visit out of the park and make sure they make clear how important he is and how he fits into their program as well as showing that their NIL is as competitive as anyone's.
For more on TSR's thoughts on Queen's recruitment heading into his final official visit, CLICK HERE.
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