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NC State GM, Andrew Slater, was in attendance at Deron Rippey Jr’s game, 3 days before his announcement

Pack Pride Staff

Published

6 months ago

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Deron Rippey Jr. is making his college decision in two days.

The 2026 5-star PG who many believed was favoring NC State early in the process, now has outlets predicting he’ll end up at Duke.

But NC State must not believe they’re out of the picture. In fact, over Christmas Wolfpack GM, Andrew Slater, was posting pictures from NYC, leaving Pack fans to speculate that he was up there to catch the Jordan Holiday Classic in Brooklyn, where Rippey Jr was set to play.

Was he dropping breadcrumbs or just celebrating Christmas in the city.

Maybe both, as it turns out that Slater was in fact in attendance for Rippey Jr’s game last night, alongside Duke assistant Tyler Thornton.

Rippey Jr. went for 21 in the win.

Rivals ranks Rippey Jr. as the #6 overall player nationally in the 2026 recruiting class, the #2 Point Guard and the #1 player in the state of New Jersey.

The Wolfpack offered him on June 17th.

Last year, he led Blair Academy to a 24-4 record, averaging 16.2 points, 5.3 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game. Rippey Jr. was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in New Jersey as a Junior.

Wolfpack coaches were in to watch Rippey Jr. shine in his season opener last month. Rippey Jr. took his final official visit to NC State the first week of November.

NC State is listed as one of the 5 finalists that he will choose between on Tuesday at 4pm.

Was Slater there to offer a last minute bag? Or was he just in town for the Holidays? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

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