5-star PG to officially visit Syracuse basketball in 2025, sets official to ACC foe

New York City product Deron Rippey Jr., a five-star point guard and a top-20 national prospect in the 2026 class who unofficially visited Syracuse basketball earlier this year, has set an official visit to another Atlantic Coast Conference suitor.

The 6-foot-2 Rippey's dad, all-around good guy Deron Rippey Sr., tells me that his son will go on an official visit to Louisville during the weekend that begins Friday, Nov. 8. During that weekend, the Cardinals, on Saturday, Nov. 9, will host Southeastern Conference school Tennessee.

In the preseason Associated Press and Coaches top-25 polls ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, the Volunteers checked in at No. 12 around the country.

Deron Rippey Jr., in recent months, has seen his recruitment blow up, particularly as the 2026 contact period opened on June 15, enabling college coaches to initiate direct communication with prospects who are entering their junior seasons in high school.

Syracuse basketball will get an official visit from five-star point guard Deron Rippey Jr. at some point.

Currently, Rippey's offer sheet is fast approaching 30, according to recruiting services. College squads that have offered him include Stanford, Creighton, West Virginia, Maryland, Louisville, LSU, Providence, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Villanova, Illinois, George Washington, Texas A&M, TCU, St. John's, Oklahoma State, Rutgers, SMU, Washington, Seton Hall, Purdue and Michigan, among others.

Rippey, who hails from Brooklyn, N.Y., received a scholarship offer from the Orange in late August of 2023. His lead recruiter at the 'Cuse is assistant coach Allen Griffin. In late February of this year, on Jim Boeheim Day, Rippey took an unofficial visit to Syracuse basketball, as I first reported.

Rippey's dad tells me that his son will take an official visit sometime in 2025 to the Orange as Rippey gets closer to making a college decision. Stay tuned for that.

Recently, Rippey has gone on a couple of other unofficial visits to schools such as St. John's, Villanova and Rutgers. Most recruiting services, by the way, rank him as a top-four point guard in the 2026 class.

Rippey is entering his junior season at the Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J. As a sophomore in 2023-24, he captured various awards and honors as Blair went 22-4 overall and won both the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association ("NJSIAA") Prep A state championship and the Mid-Atlantic Prep League ("MAPL") tournament title.

In prior interviews, including one this past July with top national analyst/scout Jamie Shaw of On3, Rippey has spoken highly of the Syracuse basketball program and the relationship that he's developing with the Orange staff. Rippey has noted that his dad has known 'Cuse head coach Adrian Autry for a long time.

In late June, amid a scholastic live period, Griffin was on hand for Rippey at an event called the Mid-Atlantic Independent School Team Camp, which Blair hosted. To date, I'm aware of at least 11 juniors in high school who have secured scholarship offers from the 'Cuse, and my sense is that Rippey is a key priority target for Syracuse basketball in this cycle.

Earlier this month, Rippey was among the top-flight players who received invites to compete at a USA Basketball junior national team minicamp from October 11 to October 13 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Over the spring and summer, Rippey earned high marks for his AAU performances while suiting up for the 16U team of the New York City-based New Heights Lightning in Nike’s EYBL league. During the EYBL's 2024 regular season that ran from late April to late May, Rippey averaged 12.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.