Syracuse Basketball: 5-star Deron Rippey Jr. excited to grow his bond with SU coaches

New York City product Deron Rippey Jr. is emerging as a priority recruit for Syracuse basketball coaches in the 2026 class.

The 6-foot-2 point guard, an exceptional young man with high character who shines on the court and in the classroom, is seeing his stock soar of late. In recent months, the five-star Rippey has played at an ultra-high level on the AAU circuit, at other showcases, and during a recent USA Basketball U17 national team training camp.

As a result, Rippey is witnessing his list of scholarship offers and interest explode, while he continues to ascend in the national rankings for his class.

The Orange staff offered the Brooklyn, N.Y., native in late August of 2023. This past February, on Jim Boeheim Day, Rippey went on an unofficial visit to the Hill, and he's a prospect to watch as it pertains to taking an official visit to the 'Cuse down the line.

Syracuse basketball faces steep competition for 2026 5-star PG Deron Rippey Jr.

Rippey, a standout rising junior at the Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J., likely has a way to go in his recruiting process, but he's already tallied more than 20 offers. Big East Conference member Creighton is one of the latest schools to offer him.

To date, Rippey's full offer sheet includes schools such as West Virginia, Providence, Maryland, Louisville, LSU, Bryant, Rutgers, Illinois, Old Dominion, Oklahoma State, St. John’s, Fordham, Hofstra, TCU, Long Island University, Washington, Texas A&M, George Washington, Binghamton, Georgia Tech, Villanova and Wake Forest.

On June 15, the contact period opened for the 2026 cycle, enabling college coaches to initiate direct communication with rising juniors. Since that time, Rippey has heard from many high-major programs, including the Orange.

Purdue, the runner-up in this spring's NCAA Tournament, recently reached out to him. North Carolina has as well, along with other heavyweight programs such as Virginia, Arkansas, Kansas, Michigan, Indiana and Auburn, among others.

While it will prove a big challenge for Syracuse basketball to prevail for Rippey, he does have a high interest in the 'Cuse, where assistant coach Allen Griffin serves as the team's lead recruiter for him.

In late June, amid a scholastic live period where prospects competed for their high school teams, Griffin was in attendance for Rippey as Blair hosted an event called the Mid-Atlantic Independent School Team Camp.

Rising juniors can start taking official visits to college campuses beginning on August 1. While nothing has been scheduled, Rippey's dad told me in a recent phone chat that his son will take an official visit to the Hill at some point. Stay tuned for that.

In a recent interview with top national analyst/scout Jamie Shaw of On3, Rippey provided an update on his recruitment and discussed some of his suitors, including the Orange.

Here's what Rippey had to say about the 'Cuse: "They like to let their guards play and they don’t really take their guards out. They don’t really run a set offense, they run more of a free-flowing, read-and-react-like offense. They are trying to get back into the New York type of recruiting, trying to get back on some city-like guards. ... My dad has known Red (head coach Adrian Autry) since he was a kid. So being able to carry that relationship on, I feel like we already have a bond there, and I can’t wait to see it keep growing."

Ever since the Orange offered Rippey last August, I've had the privilege to speak from time to time with his dad, Deron Rippey Sr., who by the way is an all-around great guy. Deron Rippey Sr. has spoken highly of Autry and Syracuse basketball on numerous occasions, which is awesome.

Now, this doesn't mean that Deron Rippey Jr. is going to ultimately choose the 'Cuse, but I do expect him to officially visit the Orange in the future, and I believe Syracuse basketball will be a big contender in his recruiting process.

On the AAU circuit, Rippey has played over the past few months with the 16U team of the New York City-based New Heights Lightning in Nike’s EYBL league. Over various spring sessions on the EYBL circuit, per that league's Web site, Rippey averaged 12.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists per contest.

In mid-June, Rippey was deemed a top performer by On3's Shaw for his play at a USA Basketball U17 national team training camp in Colorado Springs, Colo. Rippey was named a finalist for the U17 national squad. Personally, I believe that he should have made the 12-player roster.

As a sophomore in the 2023-24 campaign, Rippey won various awards and honors as Blair went 22-4 overall and claimed both the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association ("NJSIAA") Prep A state championship and the Mid-Atlantic Prep League ("MAPL") tournament title.

Undoubtedly, Rippey will be one of the program's leaders in the upcoming 2024-25 season, and Blair appears to have a terrific roster for the next term.

Lately, some of the primary recruiting services have updated their 2026 rankings. Rippey is a consensus top-30 national prospect in his class. Most recruiting Web sites have him inside the top 25, and On3 just placed Rippey at No. 15 overall.

Within the rising junior cycle, Rippey is the consensus No. 1 player in New Jersey, he's a top-five point guard, and Rippey is a five-star prospect per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.