Duke Basketball Freshman Deron Rippey Jr. Embracing Noise From Crazies

By tipoff between the 2026-27 Duke basketball squad and the visiting Army Black Knights at 6:30 p.m. ET Monday (ESPNU), it will have been 240 days since the Blue Devils defeated archrival UNC at home, 76-61, in what was the program’s most recent regular season outing in front of the famed Cameron Crazies. So, Cameron Indoor Stadium is sure to be rocking in anticipation on Monday night. And there’s no doubt that freshman point guard Deron Rippey Jr. wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Playing in front of students who actually care about the basketball team was really big for me,” Rippey, a five-star talent out of prep powerhouse Blair Academy (N.J.), noted on the latest episode of Duke Blue Planet about his decision to sign on to play for Jon Scheyer and the deep Blue Devils. “I wouldn’t want to go to a school that is quiet or where the fans aren’t cheering because that’s not how I want to play.”

Listening to those comments, it should come as no surprise that Rippey bursted out of the gates in preseason home action, much to the delight of the Crazies. In the blowout exhibition wins over the Belmont Bruins and Tennessee Volunteers in Cameron, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound McDonald’s All-American and Brooklyn native routinely gave the Blue Devils a jolt off the bench, averaging a bench-high 16.0 points to go along with 1.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.0 steals in those contests.

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“Honestly, the first few [home exhibition] games have been extremely electric,” Rippey, who tallied three points, one rebound, one assist, and one block across 13 minutes in the 90-84 road exhibition win over the Kansas Jayhawks last Sunday to wrap up Duke’s exhibition slate, said during the episode. “Every time something happens, no matter what it is, the fans are always energetic.

“They’re always in tune with the game, no matter the score or no matter if we’re beating a team by a lot or a little. I feel like they’re always in tune, and that’s what makes this place so great.”

Jon Scheyer on Deron…

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Publish date : 2026-11-02 01:07:00

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