As a five-star point guard who continues his rapid ascent into the upper crust of the country's most coveted point guards, Deron Rippey Jr. (Blair Academy, NJ ‘26) has now received one of his most significant offers.

On Wednesday, following a noteworthy performance at the NBPA Top 100 Camp and then USA Basketball training camp in Colorado the previous week, Rippey Jr. garnered an offer from Duke.

The Class of 2026 Blair Academy (NJ) guard, known for his shiftiness, creative play-making, transcendent burst, athleticism, and now high-level shot-making, adds the offer to a thorough, convincing list. Rippey Jr. picked up offers from UCLA, Kentucky, and Indiana in the last few days.

Duke, which will be entrenched in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft headlines as the Blue Devils have nurtured the development of three projected top-10 picks with Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Kaman Malauch, makes the offer directly after Team USA Training Camp.

With his hounding defensive tactics and ability to guard both on the ball and off the ball, several NBA scouts in attendance at the U-19 USA Basketball tryouts appeared sold on Rippey Jr.

The Brooklyn native, now the No. 1 player in New Jersey at national power Blair, has emerged as a prolific three-level scoring source on which teams can lean for game-breaking spurts. His 3-point shooting and ability to seize and sustain the hot hand were evident at Top 100 Camp, where he earned the aforementioned Kentucky offer.

In Colorado, the cadence Rippey Jr. plays at and the overall poise he possesses were notable. The well-built, 6-foot-2, 175-pound Rippey Jr. has also proven his big-game moxie and engine this past year. During the Made Hoops Jordan Holiday Classic back in December, he authored efficiency, shooting a sublime 21-for-28 from the field and turning in extravagant, dazzling displays of athleticism.

The impact Rippey Jr. leaves on every statistical category was apparent in Blair's 2025 state title win. A three-year player who has now won three consecutive MAPL championships, Rippey Jr. scored 16 points, doled out 11 assists, grabbed eight boards, and added three steals. All of this was perhaps a harbinger of what was to come from the Brooklyn-bred guard, as he thrived in some of the elite and most exposure-heavy environments of the 2025 off-season.

While Rippey Jr. is slated for an Alabama visit in September and has had Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell hot on his trail since the embryonic stages of his recruitment, the prized recruit is wide open.

Holding additional offers from the likes of Texas, Stanford, Tennessee, Creighton, Auburn, North Carolina, West Virginia, Louisville, LSU, St. John's, Wake Forest, Syracuse, and others, Rippey Jr. has in the vicinity of 30+ Division-I offers.

He's become a heavily courted national recruit, sustaining the national prominence emanating from the New York area with previous elite-level prospects such as Johnuel "Boogie" Fland (Florida), Ian Jackson (St. John's), and VJ Edgecombe (Baylor).

With Duke's recent success and the national spotlight squarely on the transcendent talent that Flagg materialized into this past season, the offer from the Blue Devils is a bit more meaningful. Duke compiled a sizzling 35-4 record during the 2024-25 campaign, in sole possession of first place in the ACC. Buoyed by a star-studded freshman core, the Blue Devils won the ACC tournament and garnered a berth in the 2025 Final Four.