Illinois Basketball to visit five-star 2026 point guard

Per multiple sources including, Jake Weingarten, HS top recruits, and Recruits Zone, Illinois basketball will be in to visit Derron Rippey Jr. Rippey Jr. is a five-star point guard in the class of 2026 and is currently the 19th overall prospect in the class per 247sports. The junior point guard has offers from Rutgers, Syracuse, and Villanova. Per On3, Rippey Jr. has already taken unofficial visits to UConn, Syracuse, Rutgers, and St. John’s. Derron is a creative scoring point guard standing at 6 foot 2-inches.   He is a true lead guard who is tenacious at the point of attack.

Rippey Jr. played on the Team USA U17 minicamp team and stood out to many evaluators. With Kylan Boswell and Kasparas Jakucionis drawing eyes to the Illinois basketball roster, Rippey Jr. would be an ideal replacement in the class of 2026.

INFO: Illinois will be in today to see Top-20 2026 prospect Deron Rippey Jr., a source tells me. @rippey_deron pic.twitter.com/1QlLtEoSQC

— Recruits Zone (@recruitszone) October 17, 2024

Where Rippey Jr. Fits

Illinois basketball seems pretty set in the guard department in their class of 2025. As it stands, the Illini will welcome two shooting guards come 2025 in Keaton Wagler and Brandon Lee. Both Wagler and Lee are off-the-ball guards who are known for their shooting ability. When it comes to 2026, the Illini will need ball-handlers. Rippey Jr is certainly the perfect lead guard to insert for the Illini. As with all five-star prospects, the Illini will have to fend off the top programs in the country. However, with their recent offensive numbers on Kenpom, the Illini have as good a sell as anyone.

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