Duke basketball commit Derron Rippey Jr. has earned some honors as his high school career comes to an end.
As the Duke Blue Devils reload for the upcoming 2026-27 college basketball season, Jon Scheyer and his staff have put together another impressive recruiting class.
The Blue Devils' 2026 class currently ranks in the top three among the consensus rankings from outlets. Rightfully so. They have a stellar class coming in which is not anything new for the program.
With Duke's class incoming, the return of talent from last year's team and the transfer portal class, the Blue Devils should be ready for another run this season. But before we look that far ahead one Duke commit is earning some praise with his high school career wrapped up.
Derron Rippey Jr. earns Gatorade Player of the Year honors
One of Duke's top commits, guard Derron Rippey Jr., is a five-star prospect out of New Jersey. He was heavily pursued by programs and ended up picking the Blue Devils.
But before he steps foot on campus this Summer, he had one more honor to take home for his high school career.
Rippey Jr. was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of New Jersey. This is the second consecutive year he's earned the honors. From the release:
In its 41st year celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Deron Rippey, Jr. of Blair Academy is the 2025-26 Gatorade New Jersey Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their excellence in sport, academics and community. The award recognizes Rippey as New Jersey’s best high school boys basketball player, and he joins an elite legacy that spans professional athletes and coaches to CEOs, such as Jayson Tatum (2015-16, Chaminade College Preparatory School, MO), Cooper Flagg (2023-24, Montverde Academy, FL) and Cameron Boozer (2022-23 & 2024-25, Christopher Columbus High School, FL).
Rippey Jr. averaged 15.7 points, 6.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds and two steals while leading Blair Academy to a 30-2 record last season. He's ranked as the No. 10 overall recruit by the 247Sports rankings for the 2026 class.