Deron Rippey Jr. - 2026 Guard

[PhillyRU]

Let me explain things, since you act as if recruits or parents of recruits are clueless.

A) Parents of recruiting targets do NOT care or take into account what happens in or during games.....the families have seen plenty of RU games in person or on TV and have been clearly identified as a program they have interest in......otherwise, why would the player be at a game....?? The player has interest in the team and how they play, otherwise they wouldn't attend in person.

B) the recruits, especially ones at levels like Rippey, already have an idea of what schools or programs they're interested in. Every coaching staff has a chance to bond with the recruiting targets and get to know what they're looking for and what they would like to have the opportunity or freedom to do. If the coaching staff has done anything correctly in recruiting Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey and now with Lino Mark in 2025, is the ability to be creative on offense and not be robotic or locked into running plays every time down the court

C) i hate to break the news to fans, but coaches know what plays other coaches run and once that mystery is solved by December or so, it then comes down to PLAYMAKING.....and in most cases, offense comes down to whether your weakest defender can stop someone OR in Rippey or a talented guards case, "can you get your own offense, when the defensive gameplan wins"??

Since most fans still try to apply football logic to basketball, it is as simple as this.....Can the QB make a play, when the receivers are covered or a blitzing defender is 1 on 1, trying to tackle the QB??

The best guards can play in some systems but the better teams, have multiple players who can win, 1 on 1 vs their defenders....ultimately the better teams have players at all positions whi can create offense and play solid 1 on 1 defense.

Rippey is pretty explosive on tape on offense and defense. I am not quite sure why fans want limited players, in a limited offense, so we can drop to the bottom 1/4 of the B1G.....Here's a clue......the teams at the bottom of the B1G and out of the B1G tournament (Nebraska, Washington and Penn State) don't have enough playmakers.....and they have good systems...

You simply cannot keep up in this type of league, trying to play system or rigid basketball.....you win by getting Dylan Harper, Geo Baker, Deron Rippey, Lino Mark type of guards.

Lumping Lino Mark into this group of guards is pretty nuts lol

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Agree. I’d even add in Hayes and Martini as I thought that’s exactly what they were brought here for. But without structure there was very little ran to get them open looks.

I’m going to be objective here

Aciff …has been a surprise from three compared to eastern Michigan ….but he has shown no
Ability to get shots inside the arc …

Grant…I’m very high on , but still is a frosh .

you need okayers who can score in at least 2
Of 3 ways at this level …shooting the three , driving the ball and getting the short to mid range game , and then driving and getting all the way to the rim

Hard to design sets where if you drive the ball, and then kick it , and it’s not perfect timed to get the open three ball off, and then what is that three ball shooter gonna do with it if he can’t drive

Offense stalls, reset ….

 

[darkcheck]

Let me explain things, since you act as if recruits or parents of recruits are clueless.

A) Parents of recruiting targets do NOT care or take into account what happens in or during games.....the families have seen plenty of RU games in person or on TV and have been clearly identified as a program they have interest in......otherwise, why would the player be at a game....?? The player has interest in the team and how they play, otherwise they wouldn't attend in person.

B) the recruits, especially ones at levels like Rippey, already have an idea of what schools or programs they're interested in. Every coaching staff has a chance to bond with the recruiting targets and get to know what they're looking for and what they would like to have the opportunity or freedom to do. If the coaching staff has done anything correctly in recruiting Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey and now with Lino Mark in 2025, is the ability to be creative on offense and not be robotic or locked into running plays every time down the court

C) i hate to break the news to fans, but coaches know what plays other coaches run and once that mystery is solved by December or so, it then comes down to PLAYMAKING.....and in most cases, offense comes down to whether your weakest defender can stop someone OR in Rippey or a talented guards case, "can you get your own offense, when the defensive gameplan wins"??

Since most fans still try to apply football logic to basketball, it is as simple as this.....Can the QB make a play, when the receivers are covered or a blitzing defender is 1 on 1, trying to tackle the QB??

The best guards can play in some systems but the better teams, have multiple players who can win, 1 on 1 vs their defenders....ultimately the better teams have players at all positions whi can create offense and play solid 1 on 1 defense.

Rippey is pretty explosive on tape on offense and defense. I am not quite sure why fans want limited players, in a limited offense, so we can drop to the bottom 1/4 of the B1G.....Here's a clue......the teams at the bottom of the B1G and out of the B1G tournament (Nebraska, Washington and Penn State) don't have enough playmakers.....and they have good systems...

You simply cannot keep up in this type of league, trying to play system or rigid basketball.....you win by getting Dylan Harper, Geo Baker, Deron Rippey, Lino Mark type of guards.

Michigan State does pretty well with a system. It doesn’t mean it has to be rigid or robotic. There are systems that are reactive and allow for creativity. RU seems to have no plan.

 

[Shelby65]

Aye man I’m 2nd all time in assists lol

I forget. In how many years ?

Like Harper, you had a scorer mentality. Harper hasn’t been a team first player when opportunities arise. As I said earlier, there were at least 5 pick/roll opps in the second half, which surely you noticed too, where Harper didn’t pass to a wide open, undefended Grant in the lane instead keeping the ball for his own shot.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

I forget. In how many years ?

Like Harper, you had a scorer mentality. Harper hasn’t been a team first player when opportunities arise. As I said earlier, there were at least 5 pick/roll opps in the second half, which surely you noticed too, where Harper didn’t pass to a wide open, undefended Grant in the lane instead keeping the ball for his own shot.

Seriously , you need to get over yourself. Needing to insult Geo??!

C’mon man ….knock it off and be civil instead of being nasty form no reason and off topic .

Yes, we missed grant cutting. today on mutiple occasions. But you assume it’s to play hero ball??? Maybe it’s still inexperience ??? And a couple of those …the pass was tight (and couple they weee obviously missed)…sometimes you only make the play there if it’s a clear cut open without turnover risk …

your assumption base that Dykan is playing hero ball …I’ll just agree to disagree …

 

[fluoxetine]

High level recruits want to play in the ncaa tourney

Most high level recruits probably believe any team that they are on will make the NCAA tournament.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Michigan State does pretty well with a system. It doesn’t mean it has to be rigid or robotic. There are systems that are reactive and allow for creativity. RU seems to have no plan.

Every player recruited out of HS on MSU is a 4 or 5* player.. thats 9 to 11 of the 13 players if you exclude the grad transfers. I hope you don't think RU has 9 to 11 4* kids on this current roster.....

 

[stribucher]

Maybe, ISO offense is appealing to high level recruits. I wish our coach would run plays like Purdue, Wisconsin and Iowa to put players in best position to score. Seeing the ball get passed around for a player to get the best look possible has not happened for a long time at Rutgers. We see high picks to start offensive sets and then hope guard gets himself open on the dribble and then everything stagnates on offense. Pike needs an assistant to run a free flowing offense and let him focus on defense which has been a miserable mess this year.

 

[MV9000]

Miserable watching mostly everyone stand around and set a weak screen at the top hoping Dylan or someone finds a miracle.

 

[darkcheck]

Most high level recruits probably believe any team that they are on will make the NCAA tournament.

True but this year wasn’t a good showing for RU in that dept and it might be something a high recruit thinks about.

 

[darkcheck]

Every player recruited out of HS on MSU is a 4 or 5* player.. thats 9 to 11 of the 13 players if you exclude the grad transfers. I hope you don't think RU has 9 to 11 4* kids on this current roster.....

While that’s true it has nothing to do with your quote of “you simply cannot keep up in this league playing system basketball”. You didn’t mention anything regarding the caliber of player. Nor did you address my fact that there are systems that have structure without being robotic. You only changed the argument. It’s still better to have a plan than none at all.

 

[Simce91]

Seeing the ball get passed around for a player to get the best look possible has not happened for a long time at Rutgers.

At least not with any consistency,

I do remember this occurring during the 1st half of the 2nd PSU and Mich games as well as the Iowa game. The results were high % makes and strong scoring. It's a shame the staff couldn't figure out how to get this to happen more often

 

[ancienthooper]

I forget. In how many years ?

Like Harper, you had a scorer mentality. Harper hasn’t been a team first player when opportunities arise. As I said earlier, there were at least 5 pick/roll opps in the second half, which surely you noticed too, where Harper didn’t pass to a wide open, undefended Grant in the lane instead keeping the ball for his own shot.

Shelby needs to rethink his take on one of the great shot makers in RU history. Shelby should know that Geo was an inherently unselfish player, and anything resembling hero ball was by design because he made clutch shots. Shelby should take a mulligan.

 

[Shelby65]

Shelby needs to rethink his take on one of the great shot makers in RU history. Shelby should know that Geo was an inherently unselfish player, and anything resembling hero ball was by design because he made clutch shots. Shelby should take a mulligan.

Shelby knows he was a great shotmaker. So is Harper. So is Ace. The point is, when team ball is secondary at best and at worst an afterthought like it seems to be with Ace, it undermines winning.

 

[Jerseylegends]

Not doing it to myself this year...lol I always build a roster in my head and end up being disappointed when the final roster is set. Would be nice though...

 

[Geo_Baker_1]

I forget. In how many years ?

Like Harper, you had a scorer mentality. Harper hasn’t been a team first player when opportunities arise. As I said earlier, there were at least 5 pick/roll opps in the second half, which surely you noticed too, where Harper didn’t pass to a wide open, undefended Grant in the lane instead keeping the ball for his own shot.

Missing an open player and not being a team first player are two totally different things. If you think he’s a selfish basketball player you need to watch more basketball. Dylan is just outside the top 10 in the league in assists on a team where he’s supposed to be the go-to scorer.

5 years for me with a shortened Covid year and multiple injuries. I think I was still top 3 or 4 after 4 years but I can’t remember exactly.

I also don’t think lifting up other players is defined just by assists. My 5th year Ron was one of the best captains you could ask for, but his game wasn’t to be a passer.

Luke Nathan lifted the team up and he never touched the floor.

Dylan would be a better leader than anyone we had if he were to stay at Rutgers for 4 years. But that’s obviously not gonna be the case.

 

[Jerseylegends]

Missing an open player and not being a team first player are two totally different things. If you think he’s a selfish basketball player you need to watch more basketball. Dylan is just outside the top 10 in the league in assists on a team where he’s supposed to be the go-to scorer.

5 years for me with a shortened Covid year and multiple injuries. I think I was still top 3 or 4 after 4 years but I can’t remember exactly.

I also don’t think lifting up other players is defined just by assists. My 5th year Ron was one of the best captains you could ask for, but his game wasn’t to be a passer.

Luke Nathan lifted the team up and he never touched the floor.

Dylan would be a better leader than anyone we had if he were to stay at Rutgers for 4 years. But that’s obviously not gonna be the case.

These guys just like to be negative and make "shocking" takes. They Just want to be contrarian for attention. Players getting paid and getting national attention even though the team is losing also rubs some the wrong way. Can't even argue with them because his take is either based on his emotions or a troll to get under people's skin..

 

[Shelby65]

Missing an open player and not being a team first player are two totally different things. If you think he’s a selfish basketball player you need to watch more basketball. Dylan is just outside the top 10 in the league in assists on a team where he’s supposed to be the go-to scorer.

5 years for me with a shortened Covid year and multiple injuries. I think I was still top 3 or 4 after 4 years but I can’t remember exactly.

I also don’t think lifting up other players is defined just by assists. My 5th year Ron was one of the best captains you could ask for, but his game wasn’t to be a passer.

Luke Nathan lifted the team up and he never touched the floor.

Dylan would be a better leader than anyone we had if he were to stay at Rutgers for 4 years. But that’s obviously not gonna be the case.

With due respect, it’s not missing an open player when it happens 5 times in a half and the entire point of the pnr is to exploit exactly what the play created…a wide open player rolling to the rim. Harper didn’t miss him. Harper wants to score above all else. Scoring is great of course, but not at the expense of better opportunities when they arise.

Also, half-assed at best defense is also selfishness.

 

[ancienthooper]

With due respect, it’s not missing an open player when it happens 5 times in a half and the entire point of the pnr is to exploit exactly what the play created…a wide open player rolling to the rim. Harper didn’t miss him. Harper wants to score above all else. Scoring is great of course, but not at the expense of better opportunities when they arise.

Also, half-assed at best defense is also selfishness.

Shelby needs to get off the keyboard and pound something else.

 

[TRU2RU]

Seriously , you need to get over yourself. Needing to insult Geo??!

C’mon man ….knock it off and be civil instead of being nasty form no reason and off topic .

Yes, we missed grant cutting. today on mutiple occasions. But you assume it’s to play hero ball??? Maybe it’s still inexperience ??? And a couple of those …the pass was tight (and couple they weee obviously missed)…sometimes you only make the play there if it’s a clear cut open without turnover risk …

your assumption base that Dykan is playing hero ball …I’ll just agree to disagree …

I don't know why this site continues to allow a Sadexcuse troll to belittle & degrade every Rutgers team & has allowed it for years!! Is this site so desperate for clicks that this continues to be allowed???

 

[TRU2RU]

Every player recruited out of HS on MSU is a 4 or 5* player.. thats 9 to 11 of the 13 players if you exclude the grad transfers. I hope you don't think RU has 9 to 11 4* kids on this current roster.....

Little does he know MSU has two of the wealthiest donors in all of college sports, one a multi billionaire who was a walk on basketball player for MSU, so financially supporting the recruiting of 4 & 5 star players makes life easier for Izzo

 

[fluoxetine]

Shelby needs to get off the keyboard and pound something else.

What does Shelby like to pound?

 

[Jerseylegends]

Little does he know MSU has two of the wealthiest donors in all of college sports, one a multi billionaire who was a walk on basketball player for MSU, so financially supporting the recruiting of 4 & 5 star players makes life easier for Izzo

He owns the suns and played for izzo lol...

 

[LotusAggressor]

Maybe, ISO offense is appealing to high level recruits. I wish our coach would run plays like Purdue, Wisconsin and Iowa to put players in best position to score. Seeing the ball get passed around for a player to get the best look possible has not happened for a long time at Rutgers. We see high picks to start offensive sets and then hope guard gets himself open on the dribble and then everything stagnates on offense. Pike needs an assistant to run a free flowing offense and let him focus on defense which has been a miserable mess this year.

Is this imaginary assistant also a shooting coach?

 

[fluoxetine]

True but this year wasn’t a good showing for RU in that dept and it might be something a high recruit thinks about.

This is fair but

To be clear I think we would not have made the tournament this year even if fully healthy all year. But to an outsider who is not super plugged into Rutgers basketball I don’t think the season is that hard to spin. Point to Dylan’s sickness and injuries, point to youth and Ace being super talented but raw, etc

People here are so disappointed (and understandably so) that I think it clouds judgement a little. This season was much more a missed huge opportunity to Improve perception than it was a big hit to perception.

 

[dbegleiter]

I forget. In how many years ?

Like Harper, you had a scorer mentality. Harper hasn’t been a team first player when opportunities arise. As I said earlier, there were at least 5 pick/roll opps in the second half, which surely you noticed too, where Harper didn’t pass to a wide open, undefended Grant in the lane instead keeping the ball for

With due respect, it’s not missing an open player when it happens 5 times in a half and the entire point of the pnr is to exploit exactly what the play created…a wide open player rolling to the rim. Harper didn’t miss him. Harper wants to score above all else. Scoring is great of course, but not at the expense of better opportunities when they arise.

Also, half-assed at best defense is also selfishness.

Get over yourself. Taking shots at Geo? Geo IS modern day Rutgers basketball. Also regarding harper being selfish. Have you ever thought about maybe the best thing for the team sometimes is him taking the ball? I’ve seen selfishness and he is definitely not selfish. If you think him and Geo are selfish players you simply don’t understand basketball.

 

[NickRU714]

He owns the suns and played for izzo lol...

Ishbia should probably pay more attention to the Suns and less on MSU.
Or maybe less attention on the Suns actually since he pushed so hard for the Durant trade.

People think Rutgers has been a disappointment? Check out the Phoenix Suns.

 

[LotusAggressor]

Ishbia should probably pay more attention to the Suns and less on MSU.
Or maybe less attention on the Suns actually since he pushed so hard for the Durant trade.

People think Rutgers has been a disappointment? Check out the Phoenix Suns.

He's run the Suns into the ground.