Syracuse basketball on hand for USA Basketball U19 tryouts; 5-star target named finalist

Syracuse basketball target Deron Rippey Jr., a 2026 five-star point guard and top-20 national prospect from New York City, is one of 18 finalists still in contention for the USA Basketball U19 national team.

On June 14, a training camp got underway with 31 prospects in Colorado Springs, Colo. Ultimately, a 12-member roster will be selected for the U19 national team, which will then prepare for the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup that takes place from June 28 until July 6 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

This past Monday, via X, the 18 finalists were revealed, including the 6-foot-2 Rippey, who holds a scholarship offer from the Orange and unofficially visited the 'Cuse campus in February of last year.

Rippey's recruitment has blown up. He has amassed dozens of offers, with two of the most recent arriving from blue-blood program Kentucky and Indiana.

Syracuse basketball has been in attendance at the U19 national team minicamp.

Per his Instagram page, Orange assistant coach Brenden Straughn has been on hand for some period of time during this USA Basketball training camp.

Syracuse basketball incoming freshman Sadiq White Jr. was invited to compete in the tryouts, but per a post on X from Syracuse.com's Mike Waters, he had to pull out due to an illness.

Jordan Smith Jr., another 'Cuse priority recruit, didn't make the list of 18 finalists because he unfortunately hurt his ankle during the training camp, according to Waters and other media reports.

The 6-foot-3 Smith, a 2026 five-star shooting guard and top-five-national prospect from the Washington, D.C., area, has an Orange offer and unofficially visited Syracuse basketbal last September. Reports have indicated he may visit the Hill again at some point.

Rippey is a standout at the Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J. During the current AAU season, he has played well for the 17U team of the New York-based New Heights in the Adidas 3SSB league. In May, amid an NCAA-permitted live period, 'Cuse assistant coach Allen Griffin watched Rippey during a 3SSB session.

Earlier this month, Rippey received first-team honors at the prestigious National Basketball Players Association ("NBPA") Top 100 camp in Rock Hill, S.C. As I reported, several Syracuse basketball coaches attended this camp to check out Rippey and other recruiting targets.

Rippey also caught the attention of numerous national analysts and scouts for his performances at the 2025 Adidas Eurocamp, which ran from May 31 to June 2 in Treviso, Italy.

In a recent interview, Rippey discussed potential upcoming official visits for him in the future during an interview with top On3 national analyst/scout Jamie Shaw. Rippey's dad, Deron Rippey Sr., has told me that his son is interested in officially visiting Syracuse basketball at some point.