One of more than 40 serious contenders for five-star guard Deron Rippey Jr., Duke basketball doesn’t appear to be a frontrunner in his recruitment. The Blue Devils are notably absent from the list of eight programs that have secured official visit dates with the 6-foot-2 Blair Academy (N.J.) standout.
Rippey — the No. 17 overall prospect and No. 2 point guard in the 2026 class, per the 247Sports Composite — is set to begin his official visit tour at Kentucky on August 1. The rising senior is the son of former ECU player Deron Rippey Sr., who starred in the mid-1990s.
Following his visit to Kentucky on August 1, Deron Rippey Jr. will continue his tour with the Miami Hurricanes on August 27, North Carolina Tar Heels on August 31, Alabama Crimson Tide on September 12, Texas Longhorns on September 19, Syracuse Orange on September 26, Indiana Hoosiers on October 17, and Tennessee Volunteers on October 25, he recently confirmed to 247Sports national recruiting insider Dushawn London.
“Next week, I’ll be dropping a list of top schools that I’ll be considering,” Rippey told League Ready this week. “I’ll be cutting some schools out and keeping some schools. These schools that I’m cutting out, I won’t be visiting. And then, my list will just be the schools I’m visiting in the fall, from August all the way up to November.”
Given Deron Rippey Jr.’s recent comments and the lack of a scheduled official visit to Durham, it appears increasingly unlikely that Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer and his staff will remain in serious contention for the explosive five-star point guard.
Scheyer and company extended an offer to Rippey in mid-June, officially entering the mix. However, with no visit date set and Rippey planning to trim his list soon to only those programs receiving visits this fall, Duke may already be on the outside looking in.
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