The instant Derik Queen set foot on the campus at College Park, Maryland, he was bound for the NBA. The five-star, top 10 recruit was electric in his lone season with the Terrapins, earning First-Team All-Big Ten honors as well as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award.
Queen and the Terps reached the Sweet 16 after a buzzer-beating shot to beat Colorado State, and to no one’s surprise, the 6-foot-10 big man announced shortly afterward that he was declaring for the NBA Draft. Now a projected lottery pick, Queen is widely expected to be the third Big Ten player off the board behind Rutgers freshmen Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey.
At the NBA Draft Combine on Thursday, former Big Ten players were asked who the toughest opponent they had to play against last season was. Queen’s answer showed some respect to Northwestern forward Nick Martinelli.
Martinelli, a Second-Team All-Big Ten honoree who led the conference in scoring, lit up the Terrapins in two games last season. On January 16, Martinelli scored a team-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting, then hit an overtime buzzer-beater to defeat Maryland. Two months later, Northwestern struggled after season-ending injuries to Brooks Barnhizer and Jalen Leach, but Martinelli still finished with 28 points and seven rebounds in a loss.
Queen, meanwhile, had nine points in the overtime loss to Northwestern and 10 points in Maryland’s March win. Although Martinelli is known much more for his offensive abilities than his defensive acumen, Queen shot just 7-of-16 in two games against the Wildcats and finished far below his season averages of 16.5 points per game and 52.6% shooting percentage.
Martinelli also declared for the NBA Draft following the season, but unlike Queen, the Northwestern forward is likely to return and utilize his remaining eligibility. Regardless, Martinelli seemingly made a strong impression on his opponents during his breakout 2024-25 campaign and could certainly find his way into next year’s NBA Draft with a strong senior season.
