Syracuse Basketball: Alex Kline building relationship with 5-star PG Deron Rippey Jr.

In the early stages of the 2024-25 season, Syracuse basketball 2026 priority recruit Deron Rippey Jr. from New York City is playing like an All-American, and the Orange staff has been on hand to watch the five-star point guard several times of late.

The 6-foot-2 Rippey, a top-20 national prospect in the high school junior class, deserves consideration as a top-10 overall player in this cycle and the No. 1 spot at point guard, in my humble opinion. Recruiting analyst Jake Weingarten, who is the founder of Stockrisers.com, echoed that sentiment in a post on his X page this week.

At the recent Jordan Holiday Classic from Baruch College in New York City, Rippey went off in helping lead the Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J., to a pair of wins. Top writer Charlie Parent, in a piece for zagsblog.com, noted that schools such as the 'Cuse, North Carolina, Arkansas, Villanova, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Providence attended this event to see Rippey, who hails from Brooklyn, N.Y.

Regarding Rippey's performances at the Jordan Holiday Classic, an NBA scout told Parent, "He was really good. He’s a much better outside shooter than advertised."

Syracuse basketball is recruiting 2026 five-star point guard Deron Rippey Jr. hard these days.

As for the Orange, assistant coach Brenden Straughn and general manager Alex Kline were in the house for Rippey at the Jordan Holiday Classic. Over the past month or so, as I've noted in other recent columns, Kline has watched Rippey several times, including a game at Blair and at the annual National Prep Showcase in New Haven, Conn.

Rippey said to Parent, "He (Kline) reaches out to me almost every week. He’s been one of the more consistent people I’ve spoken to. I love his demeanor and he really challenges me and tells me what I need to improve on, so he’s a great coach."

The 'Cuse offered a scholarship to Rippey in late August of 2023. In late February of this year, on Jim Boeheim Day, he unofficially visited the Hill. Rippey's dad, all-around great guy Deron Rippey Sr., has told me that his son is likely to take an official visit to Syracuse basketball at some point in 2025.

In November of last year, Deron Rippey Jr. went on an official visit to Louisville, and he's unofficially visited several other programs, such as Kentucky, St. John's, Villanova and Rutgers.

A standout on the AAU circuit with the New York City-based New Heights Lightning in Nike’s EYBL league, Rippey has an extensive offer sheet that has likely exceeded 30 at this juncture. In recent days, both Alabama and North Carolina have offered him.

His full offer list also includes schools such as Kansas, 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.

On Tuesday, I traded some text messages with Rippey's dad, who says that his son doesn't currently have a list of top schools and remains open with his recruitment. Rippey's dad did say that Syracuse basketball is in the mix, while praising Kline for building a relationship with his son.