The New Orleans Pelicans selected Maryland men’s basketball’s Derik Queen with the No. 13 pick in the NBA draft Wednesday.
The Pelicans acquired the pick in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks, moving up from No. 23. Queen is the Terps’ first lottery pick since Jalen Smith in 2020.
Queen heads to New Orleans after playing his lone collegiate season with the Terps. The Baltimore native made the All-Big Ten First Team and won Big Ten Freshman of the Year after averaging 16.5 points and nine rebounds.
[Derik Queen could be Maryland men’s basketball’s first lottery pick since 2020]
The 6-foot-10 big man was the first Maryland player to make the first team since Melo Trimble in 2015. He was also the first Terp to win a conference freshman of the year award since Joe Smith in 1994.
“He’s wanted this moment for a very, very long time,” former Maryland director of player personnel and current Villanova assistant coach Ricky Harris told The Diamondback.
Queen joins a New Orleans roster with ample playing time in the frontcourt. The Pelicans selected center Yves Missi in last year’s draft and Zion Williamson starts at power forward — but outside of that, there may not be many players ahead of Queen.
