Has Terps C Derik Queen hit the proverbial freshman wall? | TAKEAWAYS

[ad_1]

Rodney Rice’s prowess as a scorer prompted his promotion to Maryland men’s basketball’s starting lineup after just four games coming off the bench. Turns out his ability to hamper opponents’ ability to score is perhaps just as crucial.

The sophomore shooting guard scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half to ignite the Terps’ 69-66 win against visiting Nebraska at Xfinity Center in College Park. He added two rebounds, two assists and his first block of the season.

Rice was also the primary defender on Cornhuskers senior shooting guard Brice Williams. Entering the game averaging 18.9 points and having logged eight 20-point games, Williams scored 14 points on 6 of 14 shooting, including a 0 of 3 outing from 3-point range.

Rice’s defensive performance caught Maryland coach Kevin Willard’s attention as much as his offensive efforts.

“More than anything, I’m really proud of the way he’s defending,” Willard said of the Virginia Tech transfer. “Brice Williams is a heck of a player, and he spent 30 minutes on him really battling. He made some tough shots, but [Rice] made him take tough shots, which is really good. So Rod’s been really progressing. For a guy that only played eight games his first year and sit out a year and now have to go through this league, night in and night out I think he’s doing a great job.”

Here are three observations from Sunday’s result.

Has Derik Queen hit the proverbial freshman wall?

The freshman prodigy has enjoyed more success than failure this winter for Maryland (14-5, 4-4 Big Ten). And when he has stumbled, he’s been able to bounce back with another reminder why he is a projected first-round pick in the 2025 NBA draft.

But Queen’s 3-point showing against Nebraska (12-6, 2-5) was perhaps a reminder that he is still young and feeling his way through the difficulties of playing in the conference. The center from Baltimore had as many turnovers as points although he did grab seven rebounds, which was tied for second on…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/terps-c-derik-queen-hit-185000252.html

Author : Baltimore Sun

Publish date : 2025-01-20 18:50:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.