By ZACH SMART
Deron Rippey Jr. was angry.
He was angry as a physical Our Savior Lutheran (NY) team which applied ramped up pressure on the 6-foot-2 highly coveted Blair Academy (NJ) guard was rather excessive on a hard foul in the second half.
Rippey Jr., who showed NBA 3-point range with a pair of loud first half treys, answered with a wild transition leak-out play–one which ultimately sent the crowd at Acheivement First HS in Brooklyn into a frenzy.
Rippey Jr. motored downhill and floated up a lob pass for Jaen Chatman, who levitated and crammed home an extravagant one handed dunk.
On a day when Rippey Jr. finished with 17 points, seven assists and five steals and the Rhode Island-bound Chatman wound up with 21 points and six boards, it was a fitting finishing touch on a thorough 78-52 throttling of an OSL team playing without Saint Louis-bound point guard Jermel Thomas.
Rippey Jr., a five star and the consensus No.1 point guard in the 2026 class, is back home in Brooklyn for the holidays.
He made his presence felt significantly on Saturday, operating offense and whizzing assists and attacking the rim in full throttle style during the first half. As he did in Border League play this past fall, Chatman triggered a run by knocking down three consecutive 3-pointers. Kamsi Awaka, a 6-foot-10 and 220-pound forward and the younger brother of former Cardinal Hayes big man Tobe Awaka (currently at Arizona), scored 10 points and tore down seven rebounds. Awaka has recent offers from Maryland and TCU.
Julian Desir paced OSL with 14 points and five rebounds.
Rippey Jr. will officially make his commitment on Dec. 30 at 4 p.m. at the Major R. Owens Health & Wellness Community Center in Brooklyn.
Rippey Jr. is deciding between Duke, NC State, Tennessee, Texas and Miami.
Duke appears to be in the best position to land Rippey Jr., as the Blue Devils had assistant coach and former team captain Tyler Thornton was on hand to see him this weekend.
NC State, on the other hand, also had representation with assistant coaches in the matchup against OSL as well.
Rippey Jr. had a memorable visit to NC State, sitting behind the bench for the team’s 94-70 pummeling of Alabama-Birmingham and seranaded with a loud chorus of “We Want Rippey!” chants by the student section.
The coaching staff and the system have been vital components Rippey Jr. has emphasized in making his college decision.
“Ron Ron wants to help a program win, build and become part of a family,” as his father, Deron Rippey Sr., told ZAGSBLOG.
“With great culture and community, and he wants to help make history.”
The doors will open at 3 PM at New Heights Gym on Dec.30th. Rippey Jr. is slated to announce his decision at 4PM.
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