Derik Queen

Watching Derik Queen play is like using a time machine to go back and watch a slightly smaller version of DeMarcus Cousins in both the good ways and bad.

Offense

Derik Queen is one of the most skilled inside scorers in the class, showcasing elite footwork, excellent touch, and a deep bag of moves.

Queen’s handle are advanced for a big man and he is capable of stringing together crossovers and hesitations to beat other big men off the dribble. Against smaller defenders, he can straight-line drive and overpower them. However, when facing length or mobile defenders, he can struggle to create clean looks and may rush into off-balance shots like fadeaways or contested hooks.  However, he also has an array of counter moves that could help him overcome this as he further develops them.  In many ways, he reminds me of watching a young Demarcus Cousins bully his way inside. He has a good combination of strength and speed to drive right into players and bully then with his strength, but the second a defender braces for contact he will use finesse or a quick counter move to score with skill.  Queen excels at this aspect of using defenders’ momentum against them, baiting them into bracing for contact before slipping by them with finesse. He can lean in or fade back after contact to get clean looks, and has the functional strength to finish inside or through defenders.

Despite being a below-the-rim athlete with limited hangtime, Queen uses phenomenal footwork with strong touch inside. For a big man, he’s very nimble on his feet, can get up quickly, and has a wide frame and real functional strength that helps him create angles and keep defenders at bay while he scores. He plays with impressive fluidity and body control, as not only does Queen have a great package of moves and footwork, but he’s just slippery. He finds angles and due to his ability to score a variety of ways, he’s good at using head fakes, twitches, and other small movements to get defenders to bite and open up an easier scoring lane

Queen thrives when the defense is off balance, showing good positioning as a roll man or finding space open space against rotating or scrambling defense. Although as a pick-and-roll big, he shows some promise and can screen and roll, pass on the short roll, and finish inside. However, he’s not a high-level rim runner and isn’t yet a pick-and-pop threat. Development here could unlock more of his offensive game.

Queen’s shot is currently inconsistent.  He made  a few nice midrange shots that show promise and it would open up his game a lot if he could hit those consistently. But right now, he can rush them or have varied form and it’s just not a consistent weapon.  He can push with his arms out in front of him at times or look like he’s rushing a shot when he doesn’t need to. Just doesn’t seem fully comfortable or confident as a shooter. He’s sort of like a young DMC or Sabonis where the form on shot his is a bit stiff and inconsistent; however, it’s not broken and given his touch on his free throws and passing, it seems like a skill that should develop to at least some degree over time.  He’s also not shy about taking shots, which can lead to some forced attempts when better options are available.

Off the ball, Queen is a bit inconsistent at times setting screens, cutting well, and finding soft spots in the defense.  And other times drifting too far from the action and clapping his hands calling for the ball rather than staying engaged. As a screener, he’s not overly physical, but his size and strength still make him effective in creating space.

Queen has excellent hands, capable of catching tough passes on the move or in traffic. He runs the floor well and is a reliable target in transition, on cuts, or getting quick baskets from the dunker spot. His coordination, strength, anticipation, and quick jumping ability, and soft hands make him an excellent rebounder and he’s able to tip and control rebounds even in traffic.

As a passer, Queen is very capable for a big man, showing a full array of passes including cross-court skips, dimes in transition, short roll feeds, and post-kickouts. He can direct offense from the high post or the elbows and occasionally throws live-dribble passes.  He was able to hit a number of these passes with mostly good touch and accuracy.  My biggest issue was he had very few assists from his drive, even as he faced double teams or off balance defenses. He was a very willing passer when directing the offense or catching the ball on the roll. But once he went into attack mode he became single-minded about scoring and developed tunnel vision.

While he had some poor passes and offensive fouls, he really didn’t have many considering the volume of passes or his size and how many times he barreled into the lane.  And they diminished as the season went on.. The two more concerning areas had to do with him getting overly aggressive. First, while his handles are strong for a big, he had far too many turnovers. A lot of your ball handling PFs and Cs have this issue as freshman, but he’ll 100% need to clean this up and make better decisions as he grows. Ditto with the travels as he had too many instances of starting to move without dribbling. Deja Vu Boogie Cousins, where he had a lot of exciting plays but also moments you are shouting “noooo” at the TV.

Finally, Queen is a very emotive player. I don’t want to lean too far into the DMC comparisons, but like with Cousins he wears his heart on his sleeve. This can be infectious and fire up the crowd or his team. But it can also lead to him being frustrated and slamming his hands on the stanchion instead of getting back on defense.

Defense

Queen is a true Jekyll and Hyde defender. At times, he shows strong effort, good positioning, and instincts that allow him to wall up, rotate, and contest effectively. At other times, he’s unengaged, upright, and overly reactive. This can lead to breakdowns, open shots, or missed rotations that hurt his team.

When guarding the perimeter, Queen’s lateral speed is adequate, but he plays too upright, bites on fakes, and often finds himself out of position, which can allow the offensive player to slip by him easily. He shows some ability to change direction and wall up inside, but his north-south change of direction is more limited, especially when asked to defend quick actions or cover guards in space.  When playing the drive, Queen can absorb contact especially from a more stationary position, allowing him to contest well and get blocks. When he’s sliding or backpedaling on defense and gets bumped he does seem to get knocked backwards out of the play more than I’d prefer, which I’d imagine is more a function of his momentum then his strength.

Queen was a respectable shot blocker, using his length, timing, and quick second jump to contest drivers, help from the weak side, and even block a few jumpers on the perimeter.  He’s never going to be an elite rim protector, but he does provide some friction at the rim and certainly creates traffic and provides congestion in the lane, which can make things more difficult for offensive players.  At times Queen does so effectively, but other times just stands and watches players come right down the middle uncontested while he’s only a couple of steps away.

Queen also generates a lot of turnovers with his anticipation, quick hands, fast reaction times, and good length. These help him to jump passing routes, deflect passes, strip ball handlers, and execute digs. After a steal, he’s an immediate threat to take the ball down the court to score.

However, that aggressiveness cuts both ways. He can gamble too often, leave his man to chase the ball, or overhelp to the point of compromising the team’s defense. He frequently gets stuck in no-man’s land; hanging in the paint while his man is left wide open at the three-point line.  When his Queen’s Gambit pays off, he can be a gamechanger, but when he misses or takes himself out of position, it can be frustrating to watch and probably frustrating for his coaches and teammates.

Queen’s pick-and-roll defense really needs to improve. Had some good possessions where he fully committed to a switch or getting back to his man, but when he tried to hedge, he got turned around a lot and struggled to recover and get back to the opposing big creating some easy buckets for their opponent. Or while playing drop coverage, Queen would just be standing in the key while his man is setting a screen for a ball handler allowing him to take a quick, uncontested jumper.  To Queen’s credit, he does a decent job fighting through screens when he is the one being screened

In the post, he has mixed results as he looks good in spurts. Sometimes he uses his strength and agility to wall up and defend well.  Other times he gets beaten by quick spins or drop steps, allowing opposing bigs to gain deep position and finish easily.

While it’s a bit easier to how Queen defends now, it is almost harder to really assess his potential and what he might be able to do in the NBA.  He clearly has some weaknesses that will impact his NBA defense.  But he also has some legitimately strong moments that show promise when he is focused and locked in.  The problem is there were simply not enough of those moments, whether it’s conditioning, attitude towards defense, or just overall focus.  Again, crazy Deja vu to young Boogie.