“No Duke?”, “Kentucky duh”: College hoops fans react as Deron Rippey Jr. shortlists 8 college visits feat. North Carolina, Syracuse and more

College basketball fans shared their thoughts after news of five-star point guard Deron Rippey was shared on social media. He is one of the most coveted guards in the class of 2026 and released a list of official visits to his top eight schools on Saturday on Instagram.

The list includes Kentucky (Aug. 1-3), Miami (Aug. 27), North Carolina (Aug. 31-Sept. 2), Alabama (Sept. 12-14), Texas (Sept. 17-19), Syracuse (Sept. 25-27), Indiana (Oct. 17-19) and Tennessee (Oct. 23-25).

"NEWS: Deron Rippey Jr., the No. 17 overall prospect in the class of 2026, has locked in several official visits, @247Sports is told," the post said.

Fans reacted in the comments section, with some urging Rippey to join their favorite team, while others questioned the official visits process.

"Kentucky duh," a fan wrote.

"No duke?" Another fan questioned.

"I’m Not Going Lie Texas Might Be The Best Fit Sean Miller Knows," a fan commented.

College hoops fans react to Deron Rippey Jr's list of official visits on IG. Image via @dushawn_london

Here are more comments from college basketball fans.

"I thought u could only take 5 officials, you can’t take 8 now. These kids have it extremely good now," a fan wrote.

"TAR HEEEEL," another fan wrote.

"Huge fan of ron ron but waiting that long to pick a school is never good especially in this day of age," a fan commented.

College hoops fans react to Deron Rippey Jr's list of official visits on IG. Image via @dushawn_london

Deron Rippey Jr. reveals timeline for commitment decision

Blair Academy (Blairstown, New Jersey) point guard Deron Rippey is one of the hottest prospects for the Class of 2026. Rippey Jr., a five-star prospect and the No. 17 overall prospect in his class, attracted interest from top schools and recently released a list of eight schools to make official visits.

However, Rippey is not in a hurry to make any commitments.

"It’s still up in the air, but I definitely want to get this out of the way,” Rippey said per ZAGSBLOG. “Maybe before the New Year. I’d say that’s the latest."

Rippey had an impressive summer, averaging 16.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.9 steals per game for the New Heights Adidas 3SSB AAU program.

The five-star helped the team to the 3SSB Final Four before it fell to Caleb Holt and Game Elite. Rippey also participated in Team USA’s U19 training camp squad, but missed the final roster.