Colorado State Coach Niko Medved Addresses Possible Travel on Maryland Buzzer Beater

Colorado State Coach Niko Medved Addresses Possible Travel on Maryland Buzzer Beater

Derik Queen’s game-winning bucket has stirred up some controversy.

The Maryland Terrapins managed to edge out the Colorado State Rams with a thrilling buzzer beater on Sunday night, brought to Terps fans everywhere by standout Maryland freshman Derik Queen.

Though the moment was all-around electric and it would seem Queen is still receiving plenty of praise, the bucket has been subject to some controversy, with fans debating whether or not Queen traveled on the play.

Later asked if he thought it was a travel, Colorado State coach Niko Medved said his opinion doesn’t matter because it wasn’t called and therefore did not change the game’s outcome. Notably, however, he hadn’t seen any video yet at the time of his answer.

“I haven’t seen the video yet. It’s going to be hard for me to watch. I’m sure I will at some point. I don’t know. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t,” Medved said. “But it doesn’t matter; they didn’t call one. … They never go back and change the call.”

Still, Medved was very complimentary of Queen for the shot he took, noting how difficult a fadeaway like that is to execute.

“But again, [Queen] made a really, really difficult shot, guys,” the coach continued. “He made a really, really difficult shot and they just made one more play than we did.”

Colorado State Head Coach Niko Medved when asked if Derik Queen’s buzzer beater was a travel:

“Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. It doesn’t matter, they didn’t call one.”

The Rams had carved out a narrow one-point lead with roughly three seconds left when the Terrapins called a timeout. It was then that Queen asked Maryland head coach Kevin Willard to give him the ball, and the freshman delivered. With the time remaining, he drove toward the basket and got one in off the glass as time expired to cement the Terps victory.

Whether or not he traveled during that drive will be a big question into tomorrow—but you can say with certainty that Medved handled this question and this moment, regardless of how he might feel about it later, like a champ.