New Orleans Pelicans reveal Derik Queen's jersey number

Although the Pelicans' aggressive pursuit of Queen was met with some criticism from analysts, the folks in New Orleans feel differently. Joe Dumars, who serves as the Pelicans' EVP of basketball operations, said that they view Queen as a foundational player for the franchise.

"Here's what I've said to the staff. When you identify a player that you think can be one of the foundations here, you go and get him," Dumars said. "And that's what we did. We targeted Queen; we thought he could be a heck of an addition here, and we were really aggressive about going and getting him in this draft."

Given how productive he was as a true freshman with the Terrapins, there's little doubt that Queen can develop into a solid center in the NBA. He's not necessarily a guy who can overpower defenders with his back to the basket, but his ball skills and high IQ make up for whatever he lacks physically.

During his single season in College Park, Queen earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was also named to the All-Big Ten First Team. He led the Terps in scoring with 16.5 points per game, along with 9.0 rebounds per game. He set the Terrapins' freshman scoring record with 594 points, and he accounted for 12 games of 20 points or more, along with 15 double-doubles.