Queens Royals
2022-2023 record: 18-15, 7-11 in the ASUN
Head coach: Grant Leonard
Tenure at Queens: Second season
Career coaching record: 18-15
Home court: Curry Arena
Projected starters: G AJ McKee, G Kalib Matthews, G Chris Ashby, F Gavin Rains, F BJ McLaurin
Bench: G Logan Threatt, G Kobe George, G Jordan Nevill, F Malcolm Wilson
Overview: In 2022, Queens men’s basketball made the jump from Division II to Division I, joining the Atlantic Sun Conference. As a part of the transition, the program promoted former assistant coach Grant Leonard to the head position. In Leonard’s eight seasons as an assistant, the Royals went 206-52 against Division II competition, but the first campaign at the Division I level proved challenging. This upcoming season will likely prove tricky for Leonard and his team again. Queens lost two of its top scorers in guard Kenny Dye and forward Jay’Den Turner and doesn’t have any strong additions coming in. The most notable pickup is 7-foot forward Malcolm Wilson. The Columbia, S.C., native is transferring from Georgetown, but in his strongest season with the Hoyas, he averaged 2.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.
Apart from Wilson, the Royals look to be on the small side this year. Their three top returning players are all guards, and their bench unit is much more guard-heavy as well.
The bench consists mostly of transfers from community colleges and Division II and Division III programs, and the jury’s still out on how they’ll make the transition to Division I basketball.
Team ceiling: A strong outcome for this Queens program would be a top-4 finish in the ASUN with strong growth from the new additions to the team.
Team floor: Currently, the Royals are ranked No. 10 out of 12 teams in the conference preseason media poll. Queens could realistically finish at the bottom of the ASUN and be one of the weaker teams in Division I basketball.
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