A key Duke Basketball freshman is already pushing veterans as practices are officially underway.
The Duke Blue Devils are back on the basketball court as practices have begun in preparation for the upcoming season. While Duke had a heartbreaking loss to UConn in the Elite Eight a year ago, they are back this season hoping to get over that hump and return to the Final Four.
Duke welcomes back some key players including four guys who were legit contributors from last seasons team. They also have a good transfer portal class and the No. 1 overall recruiting class as well. Included in that recruiting class is guard Deron Rippy Jr.
The five-star guard from New Jersey committed to the Blue Devils as one of the top players in the 2026 class. And early on, he's making a good first impression.
Rippey might be a freshman, and typically that means coming in and earning your role on the team. But that's not the case here, according to a coach on the staff.
With Duke meeting the media this week, we learned some new things about this team ahead of the season. Assistant coach Tyler Thornton had an early assessment of Rippey that is great news for Duke.
Thornton said that Rippey isn't scared to go at the older guards and challenge them on the court. He mentioned that that's a good way to earn playing time, and being more competitive is never a bad thing in this situation. The other thing that Thornton noted is that Rippey is absorbing all the information he can.
We know that Rippey has the athleticism and skill set. But his overall makeup might be the most impressive thing about him.
Deron Rippey Jr.'s path to Duke
The former five-star recruit had 44 offers in his recruitment and took visits to Duke, UNC, Miami, Texas, and Syracuse among a few others. He was ranked No. 12 nationally, the No. 1 point guard and the No. 1 player in the state per the 247Sports recruiting rankings.
But when it came down to it, Duke was the best fit for the guard to take his game to the next level.
He arrives at Duke needing to earn his playing time. The roster is built with good guards like Cayden Boozer, John Blackwell and Caleb Foster. But with Rippey's skill set, it's going to be hard to keep him off the floor.
If he's impressing this early, it sounds like he's going to have a bigger impact than originally thought this season.
