One of the 2026 class’s largest dominoes fell as its top pure point guard, Deron Rippey Jr., committed to Duke in late December. Rippey, the 12th overall player on 247’s composite rankings, joins John Scheyer’s top-ranked recruiting class, which already features two other five-star players (Bryson Howard, Cameron Williams).
The 6-foot-2 guard made a case as the best guard last summer regardless of the league and was an all-Adidas first teamer on the 3SSB circuit. He chose Duke over NC State, Texas, Tennessee and Miami, also the closest school of his final list to his hometown in Brooklyn, New York. And despite Duke’s penchant for recruiting top-level talent, it’s been a while since the Blue Devils recruited a point guard of Rippey’s talent level
According to 247, Rippey Jr. is Duke’s highest-rated point guard prospect since landing Trevon Duval in 2017 and only Duval, Austin Rivers, Kyrie Irving, Tyus Jones and Shaun Livingston were higher rated than Rippey. And that high rating is fully deserved; Rippey is every bit as talented, productive and impactful as his hype.
Evaluating Deron Rippey
We ranked Rippey 15th in our 2026 class rankings from October, but strong performances with Blair Academy throughout the early high school season will move him up the next edition of the ranking. He’s a dynamic handler and playmaker and boasts rare two-way versatility for guards his size because of excellent instincts, motor and athleticism.
In his final AAU season, Rippey averaged 15.2 points, 5.1 assists (1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio) and 2.1 steals per game. His blend of live-dribble playmaking and quick-trigger shotmaking off the dribble make him a nightmare to guard at the point of attack. Even when defenses cover him well, he’ll laser passes into nonexistent windows.
i still can’t believe this deron rippey pass after 10 watches, he’s smothered and effectively falling over while he rips this into a nonexistent window with two defenders in the paint
absolute madman pic.twitter.com/kg8OwI2Qqc
— Ben Pfeifer (@bjpf_) October 4, 2025
He’s a strong fit at Duke
Beyond his individual talents, Rippey’s addition to Duke’s next freshman will tie together the other elite off-ball scorers like Howard and Williams or a play finisher like four-star center Maxime Meyer, who their new point guard will feed easy buckets. The presence of a true lead guard will benefit the entire team, though, including potential NBA prospects returning to school like Nik Khamenia or Cayden Boozer.
Rippey’s talent and a potentially weaker 2027 draft class likely means Duke won’t receive his services for more than a year, but his impact in his lone college season should be star-caliber or somewhere close. And his defensive aptitude and creation with the ball project him beyond college stardom to a potential long-term NBA future.
