BY ZACH SMART
SPRINGFIELD, MASS—Blair Academy (NJ) point guards Deron Rippey Jr. (Duke) and Jaen Chatman (University of Rhode Island) have established a radiant 1-2 backcourt tandem.
The deadly Class of 2026 combination is suddenly one of the best and perhaps most dazzling guard sets nationally.
Criss-crossing the country, feeding off each other’s tendencies, and creating looks for each other in the transition attack, the two continue to prosper. The Rippey Jr.-Chatman connection has rapidly emerged into the foundation for this Blair tea
With layered depth and the ability to play 10 guys comfortably, Blair has generated immense national buzz with a rigorous strength of schedule this season.
Their performance on Saturday afternoon was indicative of this.
Rippey Jr. finished high soaring lob passes for authoritative dunks. He revved up the crowd.
The 6-foot-2 future Blue Devil applied stout on ball pressure and instigated turnovers.
Rippey Jr. wound up with 13 points in Blair’s thorough, 78-52 throttling of Texas Military Institute on Saturday at the Hoophall Classic.
Rhode Island may have well stolen one in Chatman, who has improved by leaps and bounds with this stout on ball pressure and shot making prowess from long range.
The muscle-bound 6-foot-1, 190-pound guard scored 13 points, and grabbed six boards. He added seven assists and a pair of steals. As a result, Chatman was given Game MVP honors.
“I think it is his trust level in his teammates, which allows (Rippey Jr.) to play so well with guys like Chatman,” said Blair head coach Joe Mantegna, who recently attained a coaching milestone by winning the 500th game of his career.
“Ron Ron and (Chatman) like each other. They get off the ball for each other and are both completely unselfish players. When you are fighting for internet clicks and highlights and NIL money, in today’s times, there are players and teammates than can be selfish. There is none of that wirh Ron Ron and (Chatman). They’ve only lost four games in the year and a half they’ve been here together. Completely unselfish. I take it for granted, because I know what great kids they are and how they play so well alongside each other.”
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram
The post Duke-bound Deron Rippey Jr. thriving with backcourt mate at Hoophall Classic appeared first on Zagsblog.