BALTIMORE — Maryland star Derik Queen was noncommittal about his future after throwing out a ceremonial first pitch at the Baltimore Orioles’ home opener Monday.
“I don’t know,” Queen said. “We ain’t got no coach now, so I don’t know.”
Queen spoke very briefly after leaving the field, and his comments were unsurprising after coach Kevin Willard left to take over the program at Villanova over the weekend.
“All I can say is I’m sad that he left,” Queen said.
Even if Willard had stayed, the NBA might have been an option for Queen.
The freshman big man averaged 16.5 points per game this season, and his bank shot at the buzzer gave the Terrapins a one-point win over Colorado State and a berth in the Sweet 16.
Queen and teammate Julian Reese threw ceremonial first pitches along with Shyanne Sellers and Allie Kubek of the Maryland women’s team. Queen’s toss sailed over the catcher.
“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “I didn’t know my pitch was going to be that bad.”
Four different Maryland players have entered the transfer portal since Villanova hired Willard on Sunday. Two members of the “Crab Five” starting lineup — guards Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Rodney Rice — are looking for new homes along with role players Tafara Gapare and Jayhlon Young.
All four of the departing players started their collegiate careers elsewhere but transferred to Maryland last year under Willard.
Gillespie led Maryland in assists, steals and three-pointers while ranking second on the team with 14.7 points per game. Rice wasn’t far behind, ranking second in assists, steals and three-pointers with 13.8 points per game.
Only Queen scored more points than Gillespie and Rice for the Terrapins last season.
“It’s definitely sad. I like this group of guys. We all hang out together. But it is what it is. It’s college basketball,” Rice said after Maryland’s Sweet 16 loss to Florida. “People move on, people have got different things going on, people’s paths are different. I understand it, but I love these guys.”
Maryland freshman guard DeShawn Harris-Smith entered the transfer portal late Monday.
Four-star guard Chris Jeffrey reportedly decommited from Maryland as well.
Throughout the NCAA Tournament, Willard had expressed concerns about Maryland’s athletic department. He bristled with reporters who asked about his future and expressed apprehension about the school’s ability to handle revenue sharing, especially after athletic director Damon Evans left College Park for the same role at Southern Methodist.
“My biggest concerns in life right now: I don’t know who my boss is going to be. …” Willard said last week. “And in today’s day and age, that worries me a little bit. I’m just being honest.”
Maryland’s next coach will have to work with a new athletic director and a depleted roster after Willard’s messy divorce from the school.
“We are working with urgency and thoroughness to find the next leader of our program,” Maryland President Darryll Pines and interim athletics director Colleen Sorem said in a statement. “We are confident that we will find a coach who will continue to build and grow the legacy of success of Maryland Basketball.”
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