David Cox, who was an assistant coach for the Maryland Terrapins from 2022 to 2025, hinted at a possible landing spot for one of his former stars. The now Villanova Wildcats assistant coach recently shared on the “1st String” podcast on YouTube on Tuesday, June 17, that Terrapins star product Derik Queen could be selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the No. 7 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
The reasoning as to why Cox believes this is because of newly minted New Orleans Pelicans general manager Troy Weaver. In the interview, Cox discussed the ability of Weaver to pinpoint up-and-coming young talent in the NBA. With this, the 51-year-old shared that he thinks that there could be a mutual interest between Weaver and Queen with regards to the Pelicans snagging him with their first-round pick.
“My good friend, my OG, my big brother Troy Weaver, formerly the GM at Detroit, was with the Wizards last year…I’m not sure if you’re aware, but he’s moved on to the New Orleans Pelicans. Troy has a very, very sharp eye for talent. Obviously, the Thunder, he helped Sam Presti recruit a lot of those guys to the organization, identify those guys. And then he did the same with Detroit, you see how talented a bunch that group was,” Cox explained. (13:18)
“I am kind of leaning towards, a little bit, personally of a Troy Weaver and Derik Queen connection. I think the pelicans have a seventh pick.” – David cox, june 17, 2025
In his lone campaign with Maryland, Queen led the team averages in points and rebounds with 16.5 and 9.0 a game, to go along with 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks a game.
David Cox Details What Kind Of Team Derik Queen Thrives In
Also, during his interview with the 1st String podcast, David Cox detailed what kind of general team situation he feels that Derik Queen will thrive in. The Terrapins made it all the way to the Sweet 16 of the 2025 national tournament under the tutelage of head coach Buzz Williams, and a team that is based on building culture like Maryland will help Queen drastically, according to Cox.
“So, I think an organization again from top down that has culture, and is about character and is about the right things. That’s going to be the best fit for him.” – David cox, June 17, 2025
In his last game as a Terrapin, Queen put up 27 points, five rebounds, an assist and two steals in 34 minutes of action in his team’s 87-71 loss to the Florida Gators.
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