“Fat boy.”

That’s how Maryland’s star freshman center and Baltimore native Derik Queen recently viewed himself when he saw a photo of his body at the McDonald’s All American Game in April.

On New Year’s Day, Queen doubled down on his self-deprecating remark.

“I really don’t care,” he said from the team’s hotel before Thursday night’s 75-69 loss at Washington. “I don’t look like that anymore. Plus, I did look a little fat. When I saw it at [the] McDonald’s [All American Game], I was like, ‘Oh, the jersey was tight.’ But now when I look at it, it does look fat.”

Weight no longer seems to be an issue for the 6-foot-10 Queen, who has lost as much as 23 pounds since joining the Terps (11-3, 1-2 Big Ten). Once tipping the scales at 262 pounds, he dropped to 239 and currently hovers in the low 240s.

Through a carefully crafted strategy that emphasizes cardiovascular training and nutritional intervention, Queen has reshaped his body and become a significant force. He leads Maryland in points per game (15.9), is tied for second in total blocks (14), and ranks second in rebounds (8.2) and third in assists (2.0). Kyle Tarp, the team’s director of performance who has worked closely with Queen to shed the weight, pointed out that Queen even avoided the weight gain normally associated with the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

“I’m really proud of Derik,” he said. “Derik’s getting it done.”

Queen’s weight loss wasn’t the result of a sudden epiphany or a pointed conversation with Tarp.

The five-star prospect said he has known for a long time that he couldn’t carry any extra baggage at the college level.

“You can get away with a lot of stuff in high school,” he said. “You can be better than people, and it doesn’t matter what your size or weight is because you can get away with a lot of stuff. But in college, I think it’s more competitive, and everything is more personal. Nobody wants to get scored on and stuff. So you being in better shape and working on your body can help you because you’re not going to get away with a lot of stuff in college.”

When Queen arrived in College Park, Tarp laid out a plan of extra cardio work including treadmills and sand-dune running in addition to the usual regimen of practices and strength training. Tarp quipped that Queen initially grumbled at the abundance of exercises, but has since engaged in them without any prompting from Tarp.

“It went from, ‘Aww, man, I’ve got to come in the morning again and do cardio,’ and ‘I’m on the treadmill again? We just practiced,’ to where you get into the dog days of summer, and we finish up a lift, and he’s on the treadmill without me even asking and going through his protocols and wanting to do more,” Tarp said. “When you start to see a little bit of results and you see your body changing and you see the game changing and you see your game improving, you get more and more buy-in, and that’s kind of that evolution of Derik.”

Queen has also been coordinating with a full-time nutritionist to reduce an inclination for fried foods, snacks and sugary drinks. He also uses an app that records his food purchases and then sends them to Tarp so that they can review them and opt for better choices.

Avoiding fried foods hasn’t been a problem for Queen, and he’s also kicked his fondness for honey buns — though he will indulge in an occasional Reese’s peanut butter cup. Giving up his aunt’s beloved half-and-half (iced tea and lemonade) was more difficult, but he gave the gallon she gave him over Thanksgiving to his teammates.

The discipline has paid off. Queen said he can run for longer durations during practice and that he is jumping higher than ever.

“It wasn’t really that hard because I just committed to it when I first stepped on campus,” he said. “So I’m really happy with myself that I’ve done it.”

Queen said his family’s reaction to the changes to his body has been relatively muted with many family members asking if he’s getting taller. But friends back home have noticed.

“They do say I look better,” he acknowledged. “A lot of people say they can see it in my face.”

For Queen, who is already a potential early entry for the upcoming NBA draft, there are millions of reasons for his obligation to keep the weight off.

“Where I want to go, you don’t see a lot of people that size or that big,” he said. “If they are, they’re 7 feet. So they can probably get away with it with the way they protect the rim and stuff like that. But with where I want to go, I just had to slim down and keep up with the pace. And with me changing my position and playing at [power forward] at the college level, they’re the most active people on the floor and they play hard. So I couldn’t be the same weight and match that intensity.”

Tarp said his objective has been to lay down a foundation with Queen that he can build on when he gets to that next level. And as pleased as he is with Queen’s progress, there’s more to be done.

“We still have a big challenge ahead, and I tell him all the time — and he kind of rolls his eyes — ‘Hey, I’m not impressed. I’m not impressed by what you’ve done. I want to see what you do in Game 16 in conference and we’re traveling across the country and playing two to three times per week,’” he said. “I know what’s in store for him down the road when he’s hopefully playing 82 games [in the NBA] and having to do it every night. So [we’re] not changing the standards. I’m proud of what he’s done to this point, but I’m definitely not satisfied, and I’m definitely not going to ease up on him.”

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