Gavin Ripp Liking It at the Border

For some time, Archbishop Mitty's 6-foot-8, 210 Gavin Ripp has been one of those players. Talent evaluators looked at him and always envisioned more. What's fascinating is that after a growth spurt and an accompanying development of his skills set, the conclusion is similar but his ceiling is higher. Everyone loves his game, see even more advancement in his future and no one knows where he will eventually top out. But he remains a down-to-earth, thankful, willing-to-work young man who seems a little surprised himself at how far he has advanced so quickly.

A recent commit to Coach Steve Lavin and the University of San Diego (which had a number of other coaches silently or maybe not so quietly sputtering a collective "damn" at the news), Ripp wasted no time with his decision. He announced to the Torero coaching staff he was coming south while still on his recent official visit. "I told them while I was there. I was excited because it's great to be wanted and to see how happy they were. I wanted to make my decision before the season started so that it would be out of my mind. Recruiting is kind of a stressful process."

Why Lavin and Company? "I love the coaches and I believe in what they are building plus the West Coast Conference is great and so is living in San Diego. The team has a lot of potential and I want to be part of that."

Asked what he'll be bringing to the program, Ripp said, "I'm a hard worker who is versatile and can guard almost all positions. I rebound and have improved my scoring. I'm good with my passing. My goal is to do whatever I can to help us win." It's worth adding in here that Ripp sports a 4.5 grade point average so his academic effort will never be of concern to Coach Lavin and his staff.

More Of His Backstory

"I played guard as a kid and while I always had skills, I needed to grow into my body, take advantage of my athleticism and focus on rebuilding and touching up my shot." That continues to today.

Asked what position the San Diego coaches talked about him playing, Ripp offered, "I'm a unique player so it seems I'll be a taller wing."

He noted a pair of best basketball moments although he was more enthused about the latter. "I had a game where I scored 30 points and we won the game but at the summer Section 7 tournament our team just had great chemistry. It was fun to be playing so together."

So why basketball considering he has an older brother playing as an outside linebacker at Boise State? "I don't know. I was playing rec league basketball and fell in love with the game. I don't know why it chose me. It's interesting."

Regarding leadership, Ripp explained, "I want to be more of a leader, I'm trying to improve on that." Noting his take on leadership has been one of by example, some of that direction is circumstantial due to the larger-than-life presence of 6-foot-7 Derek Sangster (a Mitty senior last year and the team's best player, now at Princeton.)

Those influential in Ripp's basketball life to date start with his Mom and Dad. His Mom played volleyball in college and overseas and both parents provided the usual support required in getting to game, practices, summer tournaments and so on. Archbishop Mitty Coach Tim Kennedy has played a big role "in basketball and beyond. He has really helped me in improving my game." The now departed Sangster performed as a role model as "I'm trying to get to where he was. I'm working towards that level."

By the way, Ripp's brother Jake currently plays as a 6-foot-3, 225 outside linebacker up in Idaho

As for a major at San Diego, Ripp explained, "I like math a lot so I'm leaning toward something in the business and economics area."

Sounds appropriate for a point forward.