Syracuse Basketball: 4-star PG recruit Deron Rippey Jr. off to big start this season

New York City point guard Deron Rippey Jr., a 2026 four-star prospect who holds a Syracuse basketball scholarship offer, is playing at an ultra-high level so far in the 2023-24 season.

The 6-foot-2 Rippey, who hails from Brooklyn, N.Y., is a top-25 overall player in the sophomore cycle, according to some recruiting services.

Candidly, I think that he is underrated in the 2026 class, although Rippey has plenty of time to vault further up in the national rankings.

Rippey, to date in 2023-24, is playing quite well for his high school squad, the Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J.

College coaches can’t initiate direct communication with 2026 players until mid-June of next year, but already, Rippey has amassed numerous offers and interest from a range of high-major programs.

Syracuse basketball target Deron Rippey Jr. is an elite point guard in his class.

According to recent posts on X from New York high-school hoops expert Zach Smart and PDT Scouting, Rippey was averaging these numbers when those social media posts went out:

•15.6 points per game
•5.0 rebounds per game
•5.6 assists per game
•47 percent shooting from the field
•42.3 percent shooting from 3-point land
•70 percent shooting from the free-throw line

Those stats could have changed a bit since the time that those X posts were published, but regardless, this speaks to just how great Rippey has proven at this juncture as a sophomore for Blair.

Rippey received a scholarship offer from the ‘Cuse in late August. He is one of at least seven prospects in the 2026 class who have been offered by the Orange.

His full offer sheet, besides Syracuse basketball, includes teams such as Old Dominion, Oklahoma State, St. John’s, Fordham, Hofstra, TCU, Long Island University, Binghamton, Mike Hopkins-led Washington, Texas A&M and George Washington.

Rippey’s dad has told me that his son has received interest from North Carolina, Kentucky, 2023 national champion UConn, Arkansas, LSU, Villanova, Seton Hall and Rutgers.

Additionally, a December 27 post on X from PDT Scouting noted Rippey is also garnering interest from Kansas, the 2022 national champion.

Rippey is ridiculously athletic and lightning-quick. He’s shown so far this season that he’s a prolific three-level scorer, but he also excels in being unselfish and facilitating for others, efficiently rebounding at the point guard spot, and getting after it on the defensive end.

Last spring and summer, during the most recent AAU season, Rippey earned high praise from national analysts and scouts as he starred for the 15U team of the New York City-based New Heights Lightning in Nike’s EYBL league.

In early October, Rippey was deemed by experts as a top standout at a USA Basketball junior national team minicamp in Colorado Springs, Colo.

For all these reasons noted above, I adamantly believe that Rippey will ultimately find himself as a five-star player in 2026 and a top-20 overall prospect in this cycle.

His dad has told me that Rippey has a high interest in Syracuse basketball, and he could end up taking an unofficial visit to the Hill at some point, although nothing has been scheduled as of yet.

Rippey is a gym rat, always working on enhancing his craft, and he shines in the classroom, too, where his dad says he holds a 4.0 grade point average.

Per Rippey’s dad, amid the fall recruiting period, ‘Cuse assistant coach Allen Griffin checked out Rippey during an open gym, and Griffin also was in attendance not too long ago for one of Blair’s games.

To date in 2023-24, Blair has tallied a 10-1 overall record, and the team will begin Mid-Atlantic Prep League (“MAPL”) play on January 6.