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Syracuse basketball 5-star recruits being pursued by two-time reigning champion UConn

As far as I know, Syracuse basketball coaches are prioritizing the five-star 2026 prospects: Deron Rippey Jr. from New York City and Jordan Smith Jr. from the Washington, D.C. metro area

Both the 6-foot-2 Rippey, a point guard, and the 6-foot-3 Smith, a shooting guard, have ‘Cuse offers. The Orange staff extended a scholarship to Rippey in late August of last year, while Smith picked up his Syracuse basketball offer in early May 2023.

This past February, on Jim Boeheim Day, Rippey made an unofficial visit to the Hill. His father has told me several times that Rippey is very interested in making an official visit to the ‘Cuse at some point.

As for Smith, he recently told On3 national analyst/scout Jamie Shaw that he will likely make an official visit to the Orange in the future as well.

While these are encouraging developments for the ‘Cuse in its pursuit of these two elite high school students, the competition for each of them is heating up – and fast.

According to a recent post on X by top author Charlie Parent, two-time reigning national champion UConn is showing interest in Rippey, who excels for Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J., and the New York City-based New Heights Lightning in Nike’s EYBL league.

Smith recently said on his X-page that he had been offered a scholarship by the Huskies, a former Big East Conference rival of the Orange’s. Other heavyweight programs that recently extended him offers include Duke, North Carolina and Michigan, among others.

Smith is an All-American who plays for powerful St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Virginia. On the EYBL circuit, he stars for Washington-based Team Takeover, an AAU program with which the ‘Cuse coaching staff has close recruiting ties.

Rippey’s full offering list also includes schools such as Michigan, West Virginia, Providence, Maryland, Louisville, LSU, Bryant, Rutgers, Illinois, Old Dominion, Oklahoma State, St. John’s, Fordham, Hofstra, TCU, Long Island University, Washington, Texas A&M , George Washington, Binghamton, Georgia Tech, Villanova and Wake Forest.

According to analysts and social media posts, college teams showing interest in Rippey include Duke, Purdue, North Carolina, Virginia, Arkansas, Kansas, Indiana and Auburn.

Smith’s growing roster includes programs such as Virginia, Oregon, Ohio State, Tennessee, Louisville, Kansas, Rutgers, Penn State, Alabama, Missouri, Villanova, Arizona State, Florida State, Houston, Maryland, Providence, Kansas State, Georgetown, Mount St. Mary’s, Virginia Tech and George Mason.

Rippey is a top-15 national prospect in the 2026 class and a leading contender for the No. 1 spot at point guard this cycle. Smith is ranked as high as No. 5 nationally in the rising high school junior class, and several experts have recently pegged him as a contender for the No. 1 overall rating in the 2026 cycle.

Over the past few months, Rippey and Smith have both played at a high level in amateur basketball and other events, with the Syracuse basketball staff attending each of them in various capacities.

In mid-June, Rippey and Smith were named the top players by analysts and scouts during a USA Basketball U17 national team training camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Rippey was a finalist for the U17 national team; Smith made the 12-player roster and helped Team USA win a gold medal earlier this month at the 2024 FIBA ​​World Cup in Istanbul, Turkey, with Orange assistant coach Brenden Straughn in attendance for the international event.

There’s no denying that more and more major college programs are going to try to land Rippey and Smith. Their respective recruitments have a long way to go. As it stands, I think the ‘Cuse is in good shape with both, although, as I said, the competition is only going to get hotter.

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