Kansas basketball: 5-star big man Derik Queen down to four schools

Derik Queen cut his list of schools to four, and Kansas basketball remains in the picture for the highly touted big man.

The Kansas Jayhawks have three commits in the Class of 2024, and it’s looking like Bill Self might be comfortable with the recruiting trio he has heading into National Signing Day. However, the coaching staff is still aggressively pursuing another big man.

Derik Queen announced his final four yesterday, and Kansas basketball was one of the schools included. The Montverde Academy superstar is also considering Indiana, Maryland, and Houston.

Maryland has been considered the favorite for quite some time now. 247 Sports‘ 12th-ranked player in the upcoming graduating year attended St. Frances Academy in Maryland before transferring to his current basketball powerhouse. Houston recently jumped into the mix, but they seem to have decent odds in his recruitment.

Recruiting talks have died down ever since Flory Bidunga, the No. 1 center in 2024, committed to Kansas. However, despite the outside world giving KU virtually no chance to land Queen, Coach Self still thinks the Jayhawks have a shot. His assistants recently visited Montverde to watch him practice.

Back in early September, Queen visited the KU campus alongside Jalil Bethea and teammate Liam McNeeley, who recently committed to Indiana. Kansas has stayed on him since then.

Bill Self, Kansas basketball attempting to assemble twin tower big man duo

Considering Coach Self persists on recruiting Queen, the Hall of Famer must see something in his game that makes him believe he’d fit alongside the 6-foot-8, 215-pound Bidunga.

It isn’t out of the question for this twin-tower tandem to coexist. Bidunga is effective around the rim and on the defensive end, while Queen is a much more polished talent offensively and through his passing ability. Watching the two play on the court together might seem clumpy, but Self would find a way to make it work.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the consensus is that Queen will land at Maryland, Indiana, or Houston. Still, if something falls through with one or two of those schools, we know that KU will be the first program knocking back on his door.