SAN FRANCISCO — Five words. That’s all it took for Derik Queen to create a frenzy in Baltimore and beyond.

In response to a question posed by a reporter as to what gave him the confidence to take a fadeaway bank shot before the final horn sounded that propelled No. 4 seed Maryland men’s basketball to a 72-71 victory over No. 12 seed Colorado State on Sunday night, the freshman center said, “I’m from Baltimore. That’s why.” And that reply has resulted in the production of T-shirts bearing those words and Queen being embraced as the city’s favorite son.

On the eve of the team’s Sweet 16 matchup against No. 1 seed Florida, Queen sounded a bit surprised that his comment would become a rallying cry for Baltimore.

“I’m getting a lot of messages and videos of people saying it,” he said from the Terps’ locker room inside Chase Center where the NBA’s Golden State Warriors play. “They even made T-shirts out of it, and I think people are actually buying them. I am from Baltimore. So if you ask me where I get it from, I get it from Baltimore.”

Coach Kevin Willard said it is obvious how important representing Baltimore is to Queen.

“The more time you spend in Baltimore, it gets a really bad rap sometimes,” he said. “And it’s a phenomenal city with great people that really love where they come from. They love their sports. So I think — and Derik said it — it’s not easy getting out of Baltimore. So when you see someone coming out of Baltimore having the success that he has had, Baltimore kids take a lot of pride in where they come from as they should because it’s a great city with great people.”

Queen said he grew up admiring Towson Catholic forward Carmelo Anthony’s shotmaking and Dunbar point guard Muggsy Bogues’ defensive intensity. And for a time when he was playing football, he was mesmerized by Dunbar do-everything athlete Tavon Austin.

Since his heroics, Queen has appeared on CNN, ESPN and TMZ Sports. The attention is nice, but he said he hasn’t lost his focus.

“It’s been good, but I’m here for one thing: win a national championship,” he said.

Willard tight-lipped: Unlike last Thursday when he tipped off the departure of athletic director Damon Evans to SMU and laid out his case for the necessity of fundamental changes to improve the program, Willard wasn’t as forthcoming Wednesday.

When asked why he felt compelled to discuss those topics in public compared to Terps football coach Mike Locksley’s preference to keep that conversation in-house, Willard launched into an 84-word answer about trying to limit All-American Gators senior guard Walter Clayton Jr.

Two questions later, Willard was asked for an update on the athletic director vacancy, and he responded by noting that Florida is a tough matchup and that he had dinner Tuesday night with former Seton Hall coach P.J. Carlesimo, former St. John’s guard Chris Mullin, and former NBA coach and current CBS college basketball analyst Stan Van Gundy.

No experience, no problem: The Sweet 16 is unexplored territory for this group of Maryland players as none have reached this stage of the NCAA Tournament in their careers. But sophomore shooting guard Rodney Rice downplayed the importance of experience.

“I don’t look at it as a concern,” he said. “We’re all happy to be here, but we’re going to compete and we’re all going to try our hardest. It’s just basketball at the end of day — experience with the tournament or not. We’re just hoopin.’”

It was clear to Willard that the players were somewhat anxious against Colorado State, which might have contributed to a 37-30 halftime deficit that is the team’s second-largest of the season. But Willard said that nerves can be a positive thing.

“I’m sure they’re going to be nervous. I hope they’re nervous,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity. Part of life is having opportunities. You’re going to be a little nervous. You’re going to be a little excited. I think that’s great. I think that’s part of what makes this tournament so unbelievable. They’re going to remember being nervous when the tip comes tomorrow.”

Reese equals rebounds: With his fourth of 11 rebounds in Sunday’s win against Colorado State, senior power forward Julian Reese joined Len Elmore as the only players in school history to amass 1,000 rebounds in their careers.

Reese, the Randallstown native and St. Frances graduate who has compiled 1,476 points and 1,007 rebounds, is the younger brother of the WNBA’s Angel Reese, another prolific rebounder. He acknowledged that rebounding seems to run in the family.

“I think it’s just a heart thing,” he said. “We just play the game with so much intensity and just wear our feelings on our sleeve and try to play our hardest.”

Willard said Reese has an acute ability to judge how a missed shot glances off the backboard or rim.

“He just doesn’t run to the same spot every time,” he said. “He kind of understands who is shooting it, where it’s going. Rodney shoots it a little flatter than [junior point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie]. Kobi’s misses are a little bit bouncier. Rod’s are a little bit harder. He kind of understands that a little bit.”

Carrying the hopes of a nation: When the Terps tip off against Florida at 7:39 p.m., the game might be a big draw half a world away.

Graduate student small forward Selton Miguel grew up in Luanda, the capital of Angola, and transferred from South Florida to Maryland in the footsteps of former power forward Bruno Fernando. Miguel, a member of the “Crab Five” who is the offense’s most accurate 3-point shooter (43.1%) and averages 12 points and 1.8 steals, said he has heard through the grapevine that many of his countrymen will watch the game, which will air at 3:39 a.m. in Angola.

“It’s just surreal,” he said. “I have my whole country on my back, and they actually know what’s going on, and they see me playing for Maryland and things like that. It’s just a big accomplishment, but at the same time, I’m just grateful for the whole country having my back.”

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.