The story of top point guard Deron Rippey Jr. and his road to Duke
One summer morning nearly seven years ago, long before Deron Rippey Jr. became a five-star recruit and the nation’s top point guard, he was faced with a test.
It was still dark outside. The New York neighborhood of Fort Greene hadn’t fully stirred. But Rippey Jr. — known by everyone as “Ron Ron” — had a choice to make.
His father, Deron Rippey Sr., had spent a couple years working out his son. They were tense, “Jalen Brunson-type” father-son sessions. But this summer morning it was different. This was about commitment.
Rippey Sr. told his son that if he truly wanted to chase basketball at the highest level, if this was more than just a hobby, then he had to show it.
“Tomorrow morning,” Rippey Sr. told him, “If you’re serious, you need to be up at 5:30. Dressed. Shoes on. Breakfast eaten. Completely ready.”
No waking him up. No reminders. Nothing.
The next morning, Rippey Sr. stepped into the living room.
“He was dressed, sitting in the living room, and he already ate,” Rippey Sr. recalled in an exclusive interview with The Field of 68. “And he said, ‘Dad, I’m ready.'”
They got in the car and drove to the park. They trained. And without anyone fully realizing it at the time, Rippey Jr.’s life changed.
“That’s when I kind of realized we had to take things to the next level,” Ron Ron said. “If I really wanted to play basketball at the highest of levels, I feel like that was the first step of me starting to do that.”
“That was the game changer,” Rippey Sr. said. “It changed his life.”
A Ball on Christmas Morning
Long before Rippey Sr.’s test, basketball found Ron Ron pretty much as soon as he could walk.
On Christmas morning in 2010, when Ron Ron was just three years old, his parents bought him a basketball and mini hoop. After that, the ball rarely left his hands. He’d always be dribbling around in his baggy and-1 shorts and NBA headband.
Basketball was never forced onto him, but it was always present. And it kind of had to be.
Rippey Sr. played college basketball at East Carolina, where he averaged 6.8 points and 2.2 assists during the 1995–96 season. Ron Ron is also the youngest of five, growing up with four older sisters. All played hoops at some point.
De’Naya, the youngest of the sisters, went on to break Rippey Sr.’s scoring record at Cheshire Academy and is now a sophomore playing college basketball at Saint Peter’s. Satora, the oldest, played at the high school level. Twins Katrina and Sabrina both played in middle school, and only Katrina eventually stepped away from the game.
Ron Ron grew up watching, listening, soaking in all the information.
“When the doctor said we were having a son, I prayed for it,” Rippey Sr. said. “I asked God, ‘Let him enjoy the game. Let him be better than what I was. Let me have the opportunity to teach him.’ So I was all in. I prayed for it. And then Ron Ron was born and he picked up the basketball.”
Still, Ron Ron didn’t start organized basketball until he was nine, turning 10. Rippey Sr. and his older brother began training him alongside a small group of kids. Very quickly Rippey Jr. found himself playing in tournaments around New York and New Jersey.
Then came the CYL — the Catholic Youth League — one of New York City’s most storied youth grassroots proving grounds. It’s a league that produced names like Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson, Omar Cook, Eric Barkley and countless others. And it was an early opportunity for Ron Ron to show what he could do.
He excelled right away.
“He won there,” Rippey Sr. said. “He won everywhere.”
The First Turning Point
The first time Rippey Jr. truly announced himself beyond New York City came at the Maryland Invitational Tournament, better known as MIT, one of the biggest youth tournaments in the country.
At just 10-years-old, playing AAU with “The Crew,” an affiliate of New Heights, Ron Ron found himself on the national stage. One opponent at the tournament stood out: Team Takeover, who were widely regarded as the best team in the country at that time.
The Crew lost to Takeover in the first matchup. Then, later in the tournament, they beat Takeover’s B team, and then beat the main team the second go-around to win the title.
“Ron Ron had a superb game,” Rippey Sr. recalled. “I think he scored about 18 of our 42 points and had like five assists.”
For Rippey Sr., that weekend changed how he viewed his son’s future.
“That was the major turning point,” he said. “Seeing him at an early age playing on the big circuit, on a big stage. It reminded everybody, me, my brother, him, that this kid could be really good if he continued to work.”
And another defining moment was coming.
Choosing Discomfort
After watching his father be inducted into the Cheshire Academy Hall of Fame in 2018, Ron Ron felt a pull toward something bigger.
“I just kind of wanted to go to boarding school as well,” Ron Ron said. “It motivated me, being independent a little younger, going and getting a different basketball experience. And just live an early college lifestyle.”
He enrolled at The Rectory School entering sixth grade, a prestigious junior boarding school known for developing elite middle school talent. The program features alumni like former Kentucky guard Terrence Clark and former UConn point guard Christian Vital. The move meant leaving home early, embracing structure and living a lifestyle closer to college than being a kid.
His first season, COVID disrupted much of the year and they didn’t play any games. But by his eighth grade year, Rectory went 11–3 and won a championship. Ron Ron thrived, and not just statistically, but mentally.
“Coach [Rob] Roy trusted him,” Rippey Sr. said. “He told him, ‘Here’s the playbook. Learn everything.’ That was the first time I really saw my son look at the game differently.”
At that time, Ron Ron wasn’t just playing point guard. He was learning how to run a team. And the trust coach Roy put in him paid off quickly. In his first junior boarding school game, against New Hampton’s high school team, Ron Ron exploded for 28 points, scoring 18 in the first half, to go along with six rebounds, five assists and four steals.
“So on the road, at New Hampton, in the high school setting, that was wild,” Rippey Sr. said. “That was crazy.”
From there, it was time for high school basketball.
Blair Academy
When Ron Ron came to Blair Academy to play for legendary coach Joe Mantegna as a freshman, nothing was promised. They didn’t tell him how many minutes he’d play, hand him a key role. Rippey Sr. admitted he didn’t know how much he would play at the varsity level, if at all.
But it quickly became hard to keep Ron Ron off the court.
“He went from two minutes, four minutes, eight minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, to 20 minutes a game,” Rippey Sr. said. “As a freshman, he led Blair in steals, dunks and was second in assists. Maybe led in blocks.”
“I told him he might play JV,” Mantegna said. “But he ended up being the sixth man on a championship level team. He just had such a high feel for the game, even more so than some of our seniors.”
By his sophomore season, he was the starting point guard, and he’s grown year-after-year ever since. Last season, Ron Ron led Blair Academy to a state title and earned New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year Honors, averaging 16.2 points, 5.3 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 2.2 steals. This year as a senior, he’s looking to win back-to-back state titles.
“When it’s all said and done, he’ll probably be the most winning player Blair’s ever had,” Rippey Sr. said.
The Evolution of a Point Guard
Ron Ron’s AAU coach at New Heights, Gary Ervin, has coached a number of elite talents and Division I players in his time. Few, he said, have evolved like Ron Ron.
“The growth has been amazing,” Ervin said. “The elevation, the maturity, the paying attention to detail, the leadership, the taking everything personal to being the No. 1 point guard in the country, it’s been amazing. Like, he probably had one of the best summers I’ve ever seen a point guard have.”
With New Heights this past summer, Rippey averaged 15.2 points, 5.1 assists (third in 3SSB) and 2.1 steals while shooting 38.1% from 3-point range. He helped New Heights reach the Final Four of the 3SSB championships before falling to five-star Caleb Holt and Game Elite.
Early on, it was Ron Ron’s athleticism that separated him. His sophomore summer, it was his relentless defense. Nowadays?
“He’s more athletic, he’s way better defensively, but his jump shot and his decision making is what’s gotten him over the hump,” Ervin said. “Because sometimes when you’re athletic, you just use your athleticism. He don’t just use his athleticism now. He knows when to use it. He’s a way better shooter so you have to play him different. His decision making. He keeps the defense honest.
“So I think those three things really is what’s separating him right now because that was the question mark and the ‘knock’. Everybody has to get better, but right now he has no flaws in his game. There’s things he can get better with, but he has no flaws. He can do everything on the basketball court that a top point guard is. And that’s why he’s the No. 1 point guard in the country.”
Coaches have even compared Ron Ron to Boston Celtics legend Rajon Rondo. When he played on that Celtics championship team with Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, Rondo was the youngest player on the team. But they all bought into listening to him, and the result was a title.
Ron Ron has similar traits. He doesn’t have to dominate the game by scoring the basketball.
“He learned that being a point guard isn’t about scoring 20,” Rippey Sr. said. “It’s about making the team better.”
“I think of him as like an NFL quarterback,” Mantegna added. “He can process so quickly and in stressful scenarios, and I really think that’s what the separator is.”
A New York Guard at Heart
Despite four years at a New Jersey prep powerhouse, Ron Ron is still a New York City guard at his core.
He grew up in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, a neighborhood in New York with deep basketball roots and cultural history. Basketball wise, names like Bernard King, Eric Barkley and Taj Gibson stand out, along with street ball legend Ed “Booger” Smith, the first street ball player on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Then, of course, you have celebrities like Spike Lee and Rosie Perez who grew up there.
“It’s where we from,” Rippey Sr. said. “I teach my kids, my children to always remember who they are, where we’re from and what we stand for. Our core values.”
The Brooklyn background shows up in Rippey’s game. He’s scrappy, plays with toughness. An edge.
“He’s a gritty New York City, run the team, touch the paint guy,” Mantegna said. “It’s pretty cool that he’s kind of the next guy in New York.”
The Final Step
The recruiting process hasn’t been easy for Ron Ron, he admitted. It was stressful coming down to the last five schools, and even more stressful deciding on where home would be.
But the decision is now in. The No. 1 point guard in the country has committed to play for Jon Scheyer and Duke, marking the Blue Devils’ fourth commit in 2026 and bringing the class to No. 1 in the nation.
“This moment right now is really mind blowing, and I’m trying not to cry,” Ron Ron said during his announcement. “I can’t really say if I’ve ever seen myself in this position right now, but I’m just blessed to be here.”
Why Duke?
“The Brotherhood was the spot for me because I want to play at the highest of levels,” Ron Ron said. “That’s always been my dream when it comes to playing Division I basketball. I wanted to go to a school that has a chance to compete for a national championship, and I want to be an immediate impact.”
Those closest to him believe the transition from high school to college will be seamless.
“I think he could be impactful on a Final Four-Elite Eight level team right away,” Mantegna said. “I think he can run a team. I think he’ll be able to understand a college system very quickly. And he’s unbelievably competitive.”
That competitiveness has followed Ron Ron everywhere, from New York City parks and gyms, to national AAU stages, to championship runs at Blair Academy. And long before the rankings, the offers and his commitment, it was already there, that summer morning in Fort Greene, at 5:30 a.m., with Rippey Jr. sitting on the couch, dressed and ready.
Seven years later, his approach remains the same. And it’s why Ron Ron should have a very successful career, not just in basketball, but as a man.
“He sets his mind to anything,” Ervin said. “Whatever goals he put down, he’s going to knock it down.”
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