SEATTLE (AP) — Derik Queen’s teammates at Maryland call him “Baby Jokic.”
But while Queen is an obviously gifted big man, he's still something of a big kid, quick to joke with a broad smile that reveals his braces.
The Big Ten Freshman of the Year got Maryland to the Sweet 16 with an off-balance, last-second fadeaway jumper against Colorado State that gave the Terrapins a 72-71 final edge.
Next up for the fourth-seeded Terps at the NCAA Tournament is a trip to San Francisco to play No. 1 Florida.
“I feel like everybody calls him Baby Jokic because he definitely plays the low post, gets everybody involved,” said teammate DeShawn Harris-Smith. “He's my roommate, he's probably my closest friend on the team, so I love playing with him, being part of his journey.”
Queen, who is 6-foot-10 and a solid 250 pounds, is the anchor of Maryland's starting group, nicknamed the “Crab Five," a play on the old Michigan Fab Five of the early 1990s and a nod to Maryland's famous food.
The Crab Five have started every game for the Terps since Nov. 19 and all of them averaged in double figures heading into the tournament.
His teammates all talk about Queen's joy for the game and life in general.
“He just has such a great energy about him,” Terps coach Kevin Willard said. “When you're around him you're going to smile, you're going to laugh, you're going to hug him.”
In the victory over the Rams, Queen finished with 17 points, Rodney Rice scored 16 and Julian Reese had 15 points and 11 rebounds as each of Maryland’s starters scored in double figures. The bench had just two points.
Queen proudly proclaimed that the highlight-reel buzzer beater against the Rams was his first game-winner. Willard said he went to a timeout and and asked who wanted the ball for the final play, and of course it was Queen.
“So it was just a simple zipper, give him the ball and let him go to work,” Willard said.
After Queen was mobbed by his teammates for the obligatory post-game celebration, he was asked by a sideline reporter where the confidence came from.
“So, I think I'm from Baltimore, that's why,” he said.
Queen is indeed a proud Baltimore native. After turning heads as a freshman at St. Frances Academy, he left the city to play for the prestigious Montverde Academy in Florida.
But he returned to his home state to play for Willard. Over the season, Queen has averaged 16.2 points and 9.1 rebounds.
“A lot of people don't really make it out of Baltimore, and then I just wanted to come here and make a change,” Queen said. “And hopefully I did make a change, so coach Willard can keep getting a lot of local kids.”
It's too soon to say whether Queen will make the quick leap to the NBA — he's got a tournament to focus on — but the final shot against the Rams certainly increased his possibilities, even as a lottery pick.
For now, it's all about Florida, which rallied to a 77-75 victory over UConn on Sunday, ending the Huskies' pursuit of a third straight title.
Florida (32-4) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017. The Terps (27-8) haven't been this far in the tournament since 2016.
There's many reasons to compare the 20-year-old Queen to Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, with his adept passing, ball control, defense and ability to make shots from all over the floor.
So the nickname wasn't that much of a stretch, but it was solidified when WNBA star Angel Reese, sister of Maryland's Julian Reese, said on social media: “Derik is literally baby Jokic omg.”
And, as it turned out, Queen can also make game-winners.
“When he said that he wanted the ball and the way he said it, I knew something good was going to happen because good things happen to great people,” Willard said, “and he is a great, great person.
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Maryland center Derik Queen, second from left, shoots the game-winning basket against Colorado State guard Ethan Morton (25) during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Maryland center Derik Queen celebrates with teammates after making the winning basket for a 72-71 win over Colorado State in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
BOSTON (AP) — Alysa Liu skated around the ice in disbelief, her golden dress shimmering in the lights of TD Garden, and the appreciative roar from a sellout crowd reminded her why she had returned to the sport following a nearly two-year retirement.
When her score was finally read, the 19-year-old from Clovis, California, had made history.
Liu became the first American women’s figure skating world champion in nearly two decades, dethroning three-time defending champ Kaori Sakamoto with a brilliant free skate Friday night. Her program to a rendition of “MacArthur Park” by Boston native Donna Summer earned her a standing ovation, and allowed Liu to finish with 222.97 points.
“I mean, it means so much to me and everything I've been through,” Liu said. “My last skating experience, my time away and this time around — I'm so happy, I guess. I'm mostly glad I could put out two of my best performances.”
Liu's coaches, Phillip DiGuglielmo and Massimo Scali, pulled her into a hug in the kiss-and-cry area of the arena. Moments later, Sakamoto came over from where she had watched in the leader's chair and squeezed her tightly, as if Japan’s hero was passing Liu the torch as the first world champion from the U.S. since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium in 2006.
“What the hell?” Liu asked in disbelief. “I don’t know. I don’t know how to process this.”
Sakamoto finished with 217.98 points to add a silver medal to her three previous golds. Her Japanese teammate, Mone Chiba, was third with 215.24 points while Isabeau Levito and Amber Glenn gave the Americans three of the top five.
“We are all so strong,” Levito said, “and we are all such fighters, and we all have our strengths, and are so different but we’re all so sweet with each other. I’m just so glad these are my fellow Team USA skaters.”
Liu was once considered the sport's rising star, the youngest-ever U.S. champ when she triumphed at the age of 13 in 2019, and then defended her title the following year. She fulfilled a childhood ambition by qualifying for the Olympics, finishing sixth at the 2022 Beijing Games, and earned a bronze medal at the world championships that year.
Then she stepped away. Liu decided that skating had become less of joy and more of a job, and she wanted to focus on being a normal college student. It wasn't until she went on a ski trip and felt the rush of competition — albeit in a much different way, and with far lower stakes — that she began to think about a comeback.
Early last year, she made it official with a cryptic posting on social media. And while the path back in a notoriously fickle sport was bumpy, to be sure, Liu took a big step forward with her second-place finish to Glenn at the U.S. championships.
She took the last step up on the podium Friday night.
“Not every yesterday, I didn't expect this. I didn't have expectations coming in,” Liu said. “I never have expectations coming into competitions anymore. It's moreso, ‘What can I put out performance-wise?’ I really met my expectations on my part.”
She left Sakamoto, the erstwhile champion, with feelings of awe and admiration.
“She went away and now she's back, and the world champion,” Sakamoto said. “I wouldn't say she's changed. Her cheerfulness and kindness and the way she's always happy brought her to the stop step of the podium.”
Earlier in the night, American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates built a big cushion as they chase their third consecutive title, scoring a season-best 90.18 points for their rhythm dance to lead Canadian rivals Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.
Gilles and Poirier scored 86.44 points to their dance, set to music from The Beach Boys. They held the lead only long enough for the U.S. duo to finish their “tour of the decades” program, which earned them a raucous ovation inside TD Garden.
The International Skating Union chose the theme this season of social dances and styles of the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s. But while some skaters picked one — the Watusi, the Madison or disco — Chock and Bates threw it all into their rollicking showcase.
“It was probably the most fun I've had thus far on competitive ice in a performance, maybe ever,” Chock said. “It was really a joy to perform in front of a home crowd and share that excitement with Evan. It was the best.”
Now, Chock and Bates will try to finish off the first three-peat since Russia's Oksana Grishuk and Evgeni Platov in the 1990s.
“That’s a tough amount of points to catch up on,” Poirier admitted, “but we also know that sport is really unpredictable.”
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Kaori Sakamoto, of Japan, performs during the women's free skating program at the figure skating world championships, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Kaori Sakamoto, of Japan, reacts after performing during the women's free skating program at the figure skating world championships, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Caroline Green and Michael Parsons, of the United States, perform during the ice dance rhythm dance program at the figure skating world championships, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko, of the United States, perform during the ice dance rhythm dance program at the figure skating world championships, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha, of Canada, perform during the ice dance rhythm dance program at the figure skating world championships, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, of Great Britain, perform during the ice dance rhythm dance program at the figure skating world championships, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, of Canada, perform during the ice dance rhythm dance program at the figure skating world championships, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, of Canada, perform during the ice dance rhythm dance program at the figure skating world championships, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates, of the United States, perform during the ice dance rhythm dance program at the figure skating world championships, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates, of the United States, perform during the ice dance rhythm dance program at the figure skating world championships, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Alysa Liu, of the United States, performs during the women's free skating program at the figure skating world championships, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Alysa Liu, of the United States, performs during the women's free skating program at the figure skating world championships, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Alysa Liu, of the United States, performs during the women's free skating program at the figure skating world championships, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
