Derik Queen

[The-Power]

I am becoming quite a fan of him. Genuinely one of the most skilled, best feel-for-the-game big man prospects I can remember and deserving of his own thread. Certainly a joy to watch on offense. His ability to switch and move his feet on defense help a lot when it comes to plugging him into different line-ups in the NBA.

Watch on YouTube

Firmly in my top 10. The question I have is whether he can crack the top 5, and I am starting to think that he really could.

[babyjax13]

Modern Al Jefferson with better passing and the build of a stretched out Kenny Lofton. I would love him to succeed, but the body needs improvement, he isn't close to the athlete and/or size that other high-skill centers are (Cousins/Jokic/Sengun).

[FarBeyondDriven]

He's a 6'8.5" PF that can defend down low but won't be able to defend the perimeter unless he gets in much better shape and play small ball center on occasion. He's gotta be moving up people's boards with how well he's playing. I think he's a better prospect than either Sabonis or Sengun.

[Frichuela]

He's a 6'8.5" PF that can defend down low but won't be able to defend the perimeter unless he gets in much better shape and play small ball center on occasion. He's gotta be moving up people's boards with how well he's playing. I think he's a better prospect than either Sabonis or Sengun.

This. 100%. Can Derik become a success story in the NBA? It could happen but it very much depends on him putting the work to transform his body.

[The-Power]

He's a 6'8.5" PF that can defend down low but won't be able to defend the perimeter unless he gets in much better shape and play small ball center on occasion. He's gotta be moving up people's boards with how well he's playing. I think he's a better prospect than either Sabonis or Sengun.

This. 100%. Can Derik become a success story in the NBA? It could happen but it very much depends on him putting the work to transform his body.

He already looks better in shape than in HS. He's also still mobile and nimble on his feet and can thus stay attached to smaller players. Him not being in the best shape hurts him mostly in terms of running the floor in both directions. That's not ideal, certainly not in the NBA, but if your biggest question mark going into the draft is conditioning then that's a pretty good place to be in. I don't see the need to ‘transform’ his body at all.

[JMAC3]

He's a 6'8.5" PF that can defend down low but won't be able to defend the perimeter unless he gets in much better shape and play small ball center on occasion. He's gotta be moving up people's boards with how well he's playing. I think he's a better prospect than either Sabonis or Sengun.

He is listed at 6-10 and he appears to have a plus wingspan. If he measures out big enough to play the 5 in the NBA then his offensive upside will shoot him up draft boards.

[GreatWhiteStiff]

I'm clearly not an expert, but I see some Melo/Mchale to his offensive game. The announcers blathering about his footwork...I think it's pretty warranted.

[Jstock12]

He's a 6'8.5" PF that can defend down low but won't be able to defend the perimeter unless he gets in much better shape and play small ball center on occasion. He's gotta be moving up people's boards with how well he's playing. I think he's a better prospect than either Sabonis or Sengun.

Much better production at that age than college Sabonis, but not sure if I agree that he's better than Sengun at the same age. Sengun was playing against grown men (many of whom ex NBA players and NCAA stars) in the Turkish league and became the MVP.

[Catchall]

Measurements will matter, but he's as skilled with the ball as a Sengun or maybe Towns. Teams will probably want him to stretch his range. The question will be on the defensive side of the ball.

[Sulla]

Much better production at that age than college Sabonis, but not sure if I agree that he's better than Sengun at the same age. Sengun was playing against grown men (many of whom ex NBA players and NCAA stars) in the Turkish league and became the MVP.

Queen turns 20 in two weeks. Sengun turned 20 after his rookie season on July 25, 2022.

[Jstock12]

Much better production at that age than college Sabonis, but not sure if I agree that he's better than Sengun at the same age. Sengun was playing against grown men (many of whom ex NBA players and NCAA stars) in the Turkish league and became the MVP.

Queen turns 20 in two weeks. Sengun turned 20 after his rookie season on July 25, 2022.

Oh, so he's actually older than sophomore Sabonis. Ignore what I said then. Sabonis was more productive even being a few months younger. And Sengun isn't even comparable. Turkish league is really damn strong. You can't compare grown professional men playing there to future accountants that play in a lot of NCAA colleges (aside from maybe the top20 schools, but even those have a lot of guys that won't become high level pros).

[FarBeyondDriven]

Much better production at that age than college Sabonis, but not sure if I agree that he's better than Sengun at the same age. Sengun was playing against grown men (many of whom ex NBA players and NCAA stars) in the Turkish league and became the MVP.

Queen turns 20 in two weeks. Sengun turned 20 after his rookie season on July 25, 2022.

Oh, so he's actually older than sophomore Sabonis. Ignore what I said then. Sabonis was more productive even being a few months younger. And Sengun isn't even comparable. Turkish league is really damn strong. You can't compare grown professional men playing there to future accountants that play in a lot of NCAA colleges (aside from maybe the top20 schools, but even those have a lot of guys that won't become high level pros).

sure, they're grown men, but Turkish league is not strong. There are several stronger leagues internationally than the Turkish league btw. Sengun isn't the defender Queen is now, certainly not then. Queen is a more well rounded player than Sabonis was in college. Better passer, better defender, just a better player overall. But they're all very close and I wouldn't fault anyone for preferring the others.

[Jstock12]

sure, they're grown men, but Turkish league is not strong. There are several stronger leagues internationally than the Turkish league btw.

Turkish league is not the strongest international league, yes. But probably top5. So still much, much higher level than NCAA overall.

Sengun isn't the defender Queen is now, certainly not then.

Probably yes, but Sengun even then was a much better offensive player. Queen looks nice offensively, but Sengun looked like a PRODIGY. Different worlds entirely, imo.

Better passer, better defender, just a better player overall. But they're all very close and I wouldn't fault anyone for preferring the others.

Better defender with better block/steal numbers, but the passing is probably a wash. If you actually watched some Gonzaga games from back then, Sabonis showed some great passing flashes even if the assist numbers weren't quite as high as Queen's. Scouts could clearly see the high playmaking potential. Sabonis is also a much better rebounder. So I don't agree that Queen is a definitively better college player overall. They're similar. I put Queen/Sabonis in the same tier as prospects. Sengun in a tier above them.

[The-Power]

Besides the shooting, I'm a bit concerned about his motor. It's running low at times and it doesn't inspire confidence that he's not managed to get into great shape yet. Still really like him but he comes with some risks.

[TheSuzerain]

Besides the shooting, I'm a bit concerned about his motor. It's running low at times and it doesn't inspire confidence that he's not managed to get into great shape yet. Still really like him but he comes with some risks.

Seems like kind of a goof ball in the off the court footage.

Talented though.

[XTC]

I see a ton of ZBO/Jefferson in his game. If he measures nicely at the combine, I can see him rising come draft day.

Him & Newell are really interesting.

[vincecarter4pres]

I see a ton of ZBO/Jefferson in his game. If he measures nicely at the combine, I can see him rising come draft day.

Him & Newell are really interesting.

Haven’t watched him yet, though have last night’s game on the DVR, but here’s the thing just going off this comparison and other stuff in this thread… you don’t want to be the team to draft this type of player. You want to be the team that trades for, or outright signs this player 5,6,7 years into their career, with a roster tailor made for him, where they’re the missing piece, or you’re a team who has few other options.

Players like Zbo and Al Jeff were damn near dinosaurs in their era, now it’s really hard to build a contender with a player of that style, body type and flaws, while giving them significant usage/responsibility and having to mask for them everywhere else.

If you draft that player, you’re almost certainly the farm team for another franchise, who will swoop in once you’ve given up on the idea of him and reap the All Star level years in a much better setup.

[XTC]

I see a ton of ZBO/Jefferson in his game. If he measures nicely at the combine, I can see him rising come draft day.

Him & Newell are really interesting.

Haven’t watched him yet, though have last night’s game on the DVR, but here’s the thing just going off this comparison and other stuff in this thread… you don’t want to be the team to draft this type of player. You want to be the team that trades for, or outright signs this player 5,6,7 years into their career, with a roster tailor made for him, where they’re the missing piece, or you’re a team who has few other options.

Players like Zbo and Al Jeff were damn near dinosaurs in their era, now it’s really hard to build a contender with a player of that style, body type and flaws, while giving them significant usage/responsibility and having to mask for them everywhere else.

If you draft that player, you’re almost certainly the farm team for another franchise, who will swoop in once you’ve given up on the idea of him and reap the All Star level years in a much better setup.

Hes a modern day Jefferson/ZBO, he's more athletic than both of them. The problem with Jeff/ZBO was their defense. It was hard back then to have a big man who couldn't play defense, it's pretty much a death sentence now unless your big man does something at an elite level (passing, shooting, rebounding). If Queen doesn't add value other than volume scoring I 100% agree with you. Another thing will be position. If Queen doesn't measure well enough to play the 5 full time his stock is going to fall hard. It's these little things that separate a Jeff/Zbo to a Demarcus Cousins.

[jambalaya]

Maryland, way better offense with Queen than without overall (even after after adjusting for opponent quality), slightly worse defense. Impact doubles against top 60 opponents

On /off effects overall are similar to Broome. But Broome's on / off doesn't change much against top 60.

[The-Power]

Good game to watch against a quality opponent to see what's to like about Queen while also still seeing the limitations.