By ADAM ZAGORIA
Deron Rippey Jr., the consensus No. 1 point guard in the Class of 2026, is down to nine schools and will visit Duke and Tennessee next week after tripping to Kentucky earlier this week and playing at a USA Basketball Junior Mini-Camp last weekend.
In an interview with ZAGSBLOG, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound guard out of Blair Academy (NJ) and the New Heights AAU program broke down his thoughts on each school and a potential decision timeline.
Kentucky: “It was good, they kind of wanted to sell me on their brand. They also told me that they want me to come in and be that starting guy at the point guard position, trying to show people what Kentucky basketball is trying to uphold even after coach Cal [John Calipari] left to go with the Mark Pope Era.”
Asked if Kentucky was prioritizing him, Rippey said, “Yeah, for sure.”
Duke (Oct, 21-23): “Duke obviously loves my game. They told me that they never recruited a point guard that had the skillset of mine, so I’m going down there to see what they have in store for me. They obviously have a lot of NBA players that are in the league, so they’re kind of like a factory [and] obviously a Blue Blood.”
Tennessee (Oct 23-25): “Their message is also kind of said the same thing. With Nate Ament, what they did for him, they can also do for me in terms of branding and come in and have that role right away.”
NC State (Nov. 7-9): ‘Very similar. I’ve known [GM] Andrew Slater for a while. They want me to come in and be the guy. Everything is set up to be built around me if I were to commit there.”
Miami: “Jai Lucas, he was part of Duke’s success with all their NBA players. They had five NBA players drafted. He was definitely a big part of that. I feel like him being able to be like the head of the snake for their player development and obviously one of their more impactful assistant coaches, him being able to get his own job, now being able to do really great things, but they’re stressing player development and immediate impact.”
North Carolina: “North Carolina has always been a top Blue Blood. But them being able to get me on campus and show me what kind of culture is there, surrounded by basketball. They have a big fan and alumni support system. I was there and a couple of alumni [including Michael Jordan and Theo Pinson] came back, so it’s obviously a great place to be. They love basketball and they’re definitely striving to win a national championship, which is a pretty good look for them.”
Syracuse: “That was great. It was definitely one of my favorite visits to go up there and as a New York kid, I feel like that’s been like the pinnacle of New York basketball and college basketball for a long time. They definitely love their New York kids, so I had a great time up there, from the staff, from the fans. It was great. “
Louisville: “Yeah, I went down to Louisville last year as well. They’ve been going through a rebuild when I went down there Pat Kelsey’s first year. Obviously, Louisville has been pretty big with developing NBA players, sending them to pros. But what I wanted to see from them is, how are they going to turn around the program. Even though when I went down there, they lost to Tennessee pretty badly, they turned around pretty quick, competing for an ACC championship and getting to the NCAA Tournament, so that was great to see them have such a good comeback year.”
Texas: “Yeah, I like Sean Miller’s system. He’s had various point guards go to the league as well, specifically TJ McConnell. He said that he loves the way he plays and I could be someone that had to take the same path as him, but I’m interested in what they’re going to do this year. Texas is a great school with so many high level athletics, and them hiring Sean Miller as the coach, that really speaks a lot because every sport there is competing for a national championship. And if they think he’s the guy to do it, I definitely have a little bit of faith in him as well.”
Rippey is being courted by a Who’s Who of college basketball programs. So, how does it all feel?
“It feels great, I think it’s more motivation,” he said. “Even though I’m a young guy, I got all these offers, we know the direction college basketball is heading in with the transfer portal and older guys staying there for more money. So I think it’s more motivation for me. I’m just going to continue to prove to people that I can play on this stage, and I deserve to showcase my talent at the highest level, whether it be one or two years to get to the league, and that’s my ultimate goal.”
As for a potential decision on a timeline, he said, “I’ll be reevaluating all the schools after I take my visits. I’ll definitely be watching a couple weeks of college basketball, so whenever I feel a decision is right I’ll drop a commitment date.
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