Rippey was born on August 1, 2007. The youngest of five children, Rippey's four sisters each played
basketball, and his father played
college basketball for the
East Carolina Pirates. Rippey played basketball from a young age and started competing in tournaments at age nine. He led Blair to the state championship, where he posted a
triple-double, recording 16 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in an 88–75 win over
The Patrick School. After his junior year, he played in the Adidas 3SSB circuit, averaging 15.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists. A five-star recruit, Rippey is a consensus top-20 prospect nationally. He is also the number one ranked
point guard recruit and the top recruit in New Jersey. He committed to play college basketball for the
Duke Blue Devils. ==References==