Tennessee Basketball hosting 5-star PG, 4-star SG for huge recruiting weekend

Tennessee Basketball went to the NCAA Transfer Portal back in April to add Maryland’s Ja’Kobi Gillespie to replace Zakai Zeigler after his legendary four-year run with the Vols. This weekend Rick Barnes and his staff will host another elite point guard on an official visit. And it’s another New York point guard, too. 

Five-star point guard Deron Rippey Jr. headlines an important recruiting weekend for the Vols, who will also host four-star New York shooting guard Jasiah Jervis before facing Duke in a sold-out exhibition game Sunday night at Food City Center. 

Five-star Christian Collins canceled a visit to Tennessee scheduled for this weekend and it’s not expected to be rescheduled. Four-star Cody Peck had to reschedule his visit for next weekend. 

‘I’m talking with (Zakai Zeigler) and seeing how I fit’ at Tennessee

Rippey, a 6-foot-2, 175-pound prospect out of Brooklyn, is the No. 8 overall prospect in the Rivals rankings and is the No. 2 point guard in the class. He’s the No. 1 player in New Jersey, where he attends Blair Academy. 

Rippey is a product of the New Heights AAU program that also produced Zeigler.  

“(Tennessee has) a great play style,” Rippey told Jamie Shaw earlier this month. “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.”

Jervis, a 6-foot-5, 180-pound prospect out of The Bronx, is ranked No. 23 overall in the Rivals rankings. He’s the No. 6 shooting guard in the class and the No. 2 prospect in the state of New York, where he attends Archbishop Stepinac. 

Jervis is down to four schools, with Tennessee getting the final official visit after he took visits to Michigan State, North Carolina State and Pittsburgh. 

Rippey visited Duke over the Blue Devils’ exhibition game against UCF earlier this week. He’s also considering North Carolina State, where he’ll visit in two weeks, along with North Carolina, Syracuse, Louisville and Texas. 

Shaw noted on Thursday that Rippey is an Adidas athlete, but did not believe brand association would determine his recruitment. Tennessee Athletics will begin a 10-year apparel deal with Adidas on July 1. 

Duke, Tennessee leading Deron Rippey Jr.’s recruitment

Shaw reported that Duke and Tennessee are the two programs mentioned the most by sources in Rippey’s recruitment. Shaw added that the two programs with the momentum for Jervis are Michigan State and NC State. 

Rippey said earlier this month that he would likely narrow down his recruitment after making all of his visits. 

“And then with my commitment,” Rippey told Shaw, “I’m definitely going to watch a couple weeks of college basketball. I’ll probably announce somewhere in the middle of the early and late periods.

“Opportunity is definitely my No. 1 thing,” Rippey added. “I want to go to a school that’s going to win and make it to the NCAA Tournament. Thats where I feel like most NBA players are found. 

“That’s where the stock goes from here all the way up. From maybe being a second round draft pick, having a good tournament, and then becoming a first-round draft pick, even lottery. So that’s the stage I want to play on.”