With Syracuse basketball watching, NYC 5-star point guard Deron Rippey Jr. balls out

On Sunday at a prestigious showcase event, New York City product Deron Rippey Jr. played at an ultra-high level, and the Syracuse basketball staff was on hand to check him out.

The 6-foot-2 Rippey is a 2026 five-star point guard and a top-15 national prospect in the high school junior class. He hails from Brooklyn, N.Y., and is both an exceptional basketball player and student at the Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J.

From November 22 to November 24, the annual National Prep Showcase took place at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Conn. It is a prestigious event held every year.

This past Sunday, Blair took on the Fork Union Military Academy from Fork Union, Va., at the National Prep Showcase, and Rippey earned widespread praise from national analysts and scouts alike for his performance in this encounter.

The Syracuse basketball staff is recruiting 2026 five-star PG Deron Rippey Jr. hard.

This past Sunday, per a box score shared on X, Blair defeated Fork Union by a final count of 71-44. Rippey was electric, to say the least. He finished with 23 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Rippey, in nearly 30 minutes of court time, connected on 9-of-14 from the field and 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. His dad, all-around great guy Deron Rippey Sr., said to me via text message on Monday that against Fork, his son notched career-highs in both points and assists.

Deron Rippey Sr. also said to me that on Sunday, watching his son was Syracuse basketball general manager Alex Kline, which is awesome to hear.

As a sophomore at Blair during the 2023-24 season, Deron Rippey Jr. won various awards and honors as his team went 22-4 overall and captured both the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association ("NJSIAA") Prep A state championship and the Mid-Atlantic Prep League ("MAPL") tournament title.

Now Rippey is off to a hot start as a junior in the 2024-25 campaign, and Blair is poised for another strong season on the prep-school circuit.

As I first reported, the Orange offered a scholarship to Rippey in late August of 2023, and he took an unofficial visit to the Hill in late February of this year, on Jim Boeheim Day. His lead recruiter at the 'Cuse is assistant coach Allen Griffin.

Earlier this month, Rippey went on an official visit to Louisville. He's also unofficially visited several other programs, such as St. John's, Villanova and Rutgers. His dad recently told me that Rippey will take an official visit to Syracuse basketball at some point in 2025, although nothing has been scheduled as of yet.

His full offer sheet, nearing 30, includes schools such as 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.

Additionally, college squads showing an interest in Rippey include Kansas, North Carolina, Alabama and Memphis, according to his dad.

Rippey played well in the most recent AAU season while shining for the 16U team of the New York City-based New Heights Lightning in Nike’s EYBL league. He's also participated in USA Basketball junior national team minicamps and other top-flight showcase events during his high school career so far.