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Maryland’s Derik Queen Sends Message to Teammate After Transfer Portal Decision

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Robert Marvi | Last updated Apr 23, 2025 10:45 AM ET

The Maryland Terrapins put together a 27-9 record this past season, but they ran into trouble in the men's NCAA Tournament. They barely got past Colorado State in the second round on a last-second jumper by Derik Queen before getting humbled in the Sweet 16 by eventual champion Florida, 87-71.

Other than Queen, the starting center, one of Maryland's key players this past season was guard Rodney Rice. Rice entered the transfer portal, and he committed to head west and play for USC on Tuesday, announcing his decision on Instagram.

Queen seemed to be in disbelief, based on his comment on Rice's Instagram post.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rodney Rice (@rodneyjrice)

"What the (expletive)," Queen wrote.

"Randommmmmm."

Rice averaged 13.8 points a game and shot 43.4 percent from the field and 37.4 percent from 3-point range last season. He played in only eight games as a freshman during the 2022-23 season as a member of the Virginia Tech Hokies, and he skipped the following season before transferring to Maryland.

He will be joining a Trojans team that was able to put up enough points to be competitive last season but only finished with a 17-18 record. It has lost Desmond Claude, its leading scorer, to the transfer portal, and it is expected that Rice will carry a sizable scoring burden this fall and winter.

Queen put up 16.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks a game while shooting 52.6 percent from the field during the 2024-25 campaign as a freshman. He recently declared himself eligible for this June's NBA draft, and the 6-foot-10, 246-pound 20-year-old is expected to be a top pick.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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