5-star PG Deron Rippey Jr. down to 5 schools

Deron Rippey Jr., a five-star point guard in the 2026 class, is down to five schools, he told Rivals. The 6-foot-2 senior out of Blair Academy (NJ) will consider Duke, Miami, NC State, Tennessee, and Texas moving forward.

Rippey, the No. 2 ranked point guard in the class, has officially visited each of his finalists.

The Brooklyn, NY native is ranked as the No. 5 overall recruit in the 2026 class, according to Rivals.

Rippey previously considered schools like Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, and Syracuse.

Rippey discusses each program

In a recent interview with Rivals’ Jamie Shaw, Rippey broke down each of the schools he’s considering.

DUKE: “Duke is great, man. Jon Scheyer just got his extension. They had five NBA draft picks last year, so that’s obviously eye-opening and eye-catching for me. You know, being able to go there and potentially have a chance to follow in the footsteps of some of those people that got drafted.”

MIAMI: “Miami’s a great program. One thing that I took note was with is Jai Lucas, you know. All the success of Duke’s high-level NBA draft picks,he was sort of like the head of the player development and being in the gym with those guys, being that assistant that had that personal connection with them. So that really stood out to me.”

NC STATE: “Andrew Slater and I’ve had a relationship with for like I think five plus years. He’s been watching me since I was a little kid. So that definitely is important to me. And I feel like Will Wade has won everywhere he’s went. No matter the stuff that he went through in the past, you know, I think he’s a winning coach and that means something.”

TENNESSEE: “They have a great play style. Zakai Ziegler is from New York, and I have sort of a relationship with him. So, I’m talking with him and seeing how I fit in there. That’s something’s going to be huge for me.”

TEXAS: “Texas is a great university overall. You know, they love all their sports in general. So I went to a football game, and a volleyball game, and everyone was showing love to the sport. So obviously the hype around basketball is there, and I’m willing to see what Sean Miller is presenting and what he does here his first year in the SEC.”