Latest news with #Rippey
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tennessee basketball recruiting names to know in the 2026 class for Rick Barnes
Trey Thompson had been to Tennessee basketball many times before June. But the Greeneville star made another visit as the Vols hosted their first official visitor in the 2026 recruiting class. The Vols have their sights on the 2026 class, hosting top prospects and working to build another elite class under coach Rick Barnes. Advertisement Here are the names to know for Tennessee's 2026 recruiting class: Gage Mayfield Tennessee landed the top-ranked prospect in Alabama in the 2025 class and is trying to do it again in 2026. Mayfield is the No. 78 prospect in the nation and the top-ranked player in Alabama in the 247Sports Composite. The 6-foot-7, 190-pound forward visited UT from June 23-24. He plays at Hale County High School. The Vols landed DeWayne Brown II from Hoover, Alabama, in the 2025 class. Feb 19, 2024; Birmingham, Alabama, USA; Hale County forward Gage Mayfield (4) shoots in heavy traffic at Bill Harris Arena after the Central Region semifinal game Monday. Hale County defeated Fultondale 52-51 to advance to the regional final. Trey Thompson Thompson is the top in-state target for the Vols as a rising star at Greeneville High School. The 6-8, 220-pound forward is the No. 120 prospect and the No. 4 recruit in Tennessee. He took an official visit from June 7-9. Advertisement Tennessee offered Thompson a scholarship in September. His recruitment gained momentum this summer with the likes of UConn, Indiana, Kansas, Stanford and Virginia offering him a scholarship. Greeneville's Trey Thompson (21) sets up to shoot against Upperman during the second quarter of a TSSAA Class 3A basketball state semifinal game at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn., Friday, March 21, 2025. Miles Sadler Sadler is one of the best point guards in the nation and the top point guard prospect for Tennessee. The 5-10, 165-pound Sadler is expected to visit Tennessee in the coming months. He is the No. 4 point guard in the nation and the No. 34 prospect. He plays at Bella Vista Prep School in Scottsdale, Arizona. Bo Ogden Ogden has ties to Tennessee and is an elite wing recruit. The 6-5, 180-pound Ogden is the No. 67 prospect nationally. His father, Chris, played for Barnes in 2003 and spent 12 seasons on Barnes' staff at Texas. He followed Barnes to Tennessee for the 2015-16 season before he was hired as the University of Texas-Arlington coach. Advertisement Bo Ogden is a standout at Westlake High School in Austin. Latrell Allmond Allmond is the No. 40 prospect in the nation out of Richmond (Virginia) Petersburg High School. The 6-8, 225-pound Allmond has made a visit to Tennessee. Deron Rippey Jr. Rippey is the No. 17 prospect in the nation and the No. 2 point guard. The 6-2, 175-pound Rippey plays for Blair Academy in New Jersey. Tennessee offered Rippey in May. Billy White III White got his first high-major offer from Tennessee in July 2024. He made the trip from Texas to Knoxville to see Tennessee beat South Carolina in its regular-season finale in March. Advertisement The No. 53-ranked prospect plays at Veterans Memorial High School in Corpus Christi, Texas. He is a 6-6, 195-pound wing. Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike's coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball recruiting: Who Vols are recruiting in 2026 class
USA Today
26-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
UNC basketball set to host key recruiting target in August
See when this big UNC basketball recruiting target will be on campus. With the Summer months here, the focus for the North Carolina Tar Heels and Hubert Davis centers on recruiting for future classes. On Thursday, they locked in a visit from an important recruit that they are targeting in the 2026 class. Four-star point guard Deron Rippey Jr. has locked in a few visits, including to Chapel Hill, he announced. He will visit North Carolina beginning on August 31st through the weekend while visiting Alabama from September 12-14th, and then Texas from September 19-21st. He will take more visits as the months go on as well. From a North Carolina angle on this, that weekend will be a big one. Not only will Rippey Jr. take an important visit, but the Tar Heels will also kick off the Bill Belichick era with the football program hosting TCU in primetime on September 1st. It's a HUGE opportunity for the Tar Heels to impress Rippey. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Rippey hails out of Blairstown, New Jersey and plays at Blair Academy. He's ranked No. 17 nationally, the No. 2 point guard and No. 1 player in the state of New Jersey per the 247Sports recruiting rankings. He holds 44 offers in his recruitment including from Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana and more. The Tar Heels have offered 10 players in the 2026 class so far, including two point guards. Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Drought, wind, and debris from recent hurricanes are stoking fires across the US
In North Carolina, wildfires stoked by unusually dry air and debris from last year's Hurricane Helene are burning out of control. In Florida, there are dozens of blazes, including one that scorched about 42 square miles in Miami-Dade County. And they continue to burn in Oklahoma, where four people have died this month due to wind-driven fires. Those states were just three of eight where large fires were being reported on Friday. Some 14,800 wildfires have burned 1,105 square miles so far this year — well above the 10-year average, according to data released Friday by the National Interagency Fire Center. Most devastating were the Los Angeles wildfires in January, fueled by dry vegetation and howling winds, that destroyed entire neighborhoods. Wildfires have happened with such frequency in recent years that many U.S. fire officials say there is no longer a 'fire season,' which traditionally ran from late spring through the fall. That is because climate change, caused by the burning of fuels like gasoline and coal, has raised average global temperatures, creating drier conditions that allow wildfires, which are mostly mostly caused by humans, to burn longer and more intensely. While major fires often happen early in the year — in February 2024, Texas experienced the largest wildfire in state history — this year is a bit unusual 'because we're seeing it happen in so many places,' said Brad Rippey, a U.S. Department of Agriculture meteorologist who monitors drought. This week, 45% of the country is in drought, when historically it's around 20% at any given time, Rippey said. That dried out lots of fuel just waiting for a spark — from freeze-dried grasses in the southern Plains to downed trees and brush from hurricanes that ravaged parts of the southeast and southern Appalachians in recent years. The National Interagency Fire Center's significant wildfire outlook notes that several states still have debris from hurricanes Laura, Ida, Debby and Idalia in the past five years, as well as from ice storms and other severe weather. Add in gusty winds and low humidity, 'and you've got a pretty ripe situation for wildfires,' Rippey said. In Hurricane Helene-devastated North Carolina, power lines downed by strong winds have been blamed for two of three large fires that have burned for more than a week in an area where the mean relative humidity this month has been the lowest on record, officials said. Impassable areas and lots of toppled trees are making it difficult to reach intense and erratic fires that are spreading rapidly because of high winds and dry weather. Many roads have either been covered with storm debris or "they have just been completely washed away,' said North Carolina Forest Service spokesman Philip Jackson, who said the fire danger could plague the state for years as more debris dries out. Much of Florida also is in drought, contributing to an earlier-than-normal fire season that included a massive brush fire in Miami-Dade County that at one point hindered travel to and from the Florida Keys. That fire is 95% contained while dozens of smaller fires continue to burn, according to the Florida Forest Service. Many counties are under red flag warnings, meaning conditions are favorable for fires to occur. West Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina also report large wildfires. The greatest wildfire potential is in the southeast and the southern Plains, and will be significant into April in most of Texas and parts of New Mexico and Arizona, as well as several southeastern states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. La Nina — a periodic cooling of the Pacific Ocean that can shift the jet stream and lead to cooler, drier air — might have affected conditions in the southern U.S., said Tim Brown, director of the Western Regional Climate Center. But there also has been long-term drying in the southwest as temperatures overall increase with global warming, said Rippey, who has monitored drought for more than 25 years. Warmer temperatures have led to more erratic precipitation that tends to fall more heavily in short periods, leading much of it to run off rather than soak into the ground. 'I do think that contributes to more wildfires,' he said. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
The Independent
28-03-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
Drought, wind, and debris from recent hurricanes are stoking fires across the US
In North Carolina, wildfires stoked by unusually dry air and debris from last year's Hurricane Helene are burning out of control. In Florida, there are dozens of blazes, including one that scorched about 42 square miles in Miami-Dade County. And they continue to burn in Oklahoma, where four people have died this month due to wind-driven fires. Those states were just three of eight where large fires were being reported on Friday. Some 14,800 wildfires have burned 1,105 square miles so far this year — well above the 10-year average, according to data released Friday by the National Interagency Fire Center. Most devastating were the Los Angeles wildfires in January, fueled by dry vegetation and howling winds, that destroyed entire neighborhoods. Wildfires have happened with such frequency in recent years that many U.S. fire officials say there is no longer a 'fire season,' which traditionally ran from late spring through the fall. That is because climate change, caused by the burning of fuels like gasoline and coal, has raised average global temperatures, creating drier conditions that allow wildfires, which are mostly mostly caused by humans, to burn longer and more intensely. While major fires often happen early in the year — in February 2024, Texas experienced the largest wildfire in state history — this year is a bit unusual 'because we're seeing it happen in so many places,' said Brad Rippey, a U.S. Department of Agriculture meteorologist who monitors drought. This week, 45% of the country is in drought, when historically it's around 20% at any given time, Rippey said. That dried out lots of fuel just waiting for a spark — from freeze-dried grasses in the southern Plains to downed trees and brush from hurricanes that ravaged parts of the southeast and southern Appalachians in recent years. The National Interagency Fire Center's significant wildfire outlook notes that several states still have debris from hurricanes Laura, Ida, Debby and Idalia in the past five years, as well as from ice storms and other severe weather. Add in gusty winds and low humidity, 'and you've got a pretty ripe situation for wildfires,' Rippey said. In Hurricane Helene-devastated North Carolina, power lines downed by strong winds have been blamed for two of three large fires that have burned for more than a week in an area where the mean relative humidity this month has been the lowest on record, officials said. Impassable areas and lots of toppled trees are making it difficult to reach intense and erratic fires that are spreading rapidly because of high winds and dry weather. Many roads have either been covered with storm debris or "they have just been completely washed away,' said North Carolina Forest Service spokesman Philip Jackson, who said the fire danger could plague the state for years as more debris dries out. Much of Florida also is in drought, contributing to an earlier-than-normal fire season that included a massive brush fire in Miami-Dade County that at one point hindered travel to and from the Florida Keys. That fire is 95% contained while dozens of smaller fires continue to burn, according to the Florida Forest Service. Many counties are under red flag warnings, meaning conditions are favorable for fires to occur. West Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina also report large wildfires. The greatest wildfire potential is in the southeast and the southern Plains, and will be significant into April in most of Texas and parts of New Mexico and Arizona, as well as several southeastern states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. La Nina — a periodic cooling of the Pacific Ocean that can shift the jet stream and lead to cooler, drier air — might have affected conditions in the southern U.S., said Tim Brown, director of the Western Regional Climate Center. But there also has been long-term drying in the southwest as temperatures overall increase with global warming, said Rippey, who has monitored drought for more than 25 years. Warmer temperatures have led to more erratic precipitation that tends to fall more heavily in short periods, leading much of it to run off rather than soak into the ground. 'I do think that contributes to more wildfires,' he said. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Associated Press
28-03-2025
- Climate
- Associated Press
Drought, wind, and debris from recent hurricanes are stoking fires across the US
In North Carolina, wildfires stoked by unusually dry air and debris from last year's Hurricane Helene are burning out of control. In Florida, there are dozens of blazes, including one that scorched about 42 square miles in Miami-Dade County. And they continue to burn in Oklahoma, where four people have died this month due to wind-driven fires. Those states were just three of eight where large fires were being reported on Friday. Some 14,800 wildfires have burned 1,105 square miles so far this year — well above the 10-year average, according to data released Friday by the National Interagency Fire Center. Most devastating were the Los Angeles wildfires in January, fueled by dry vegetation and howling winds, that destroyed entire neighborhoods. Wildfires have happened with such frequency in recent years that many U.S. fire officials say there is no longer a 'fire season,' which traditionally ran from late spring through the fall. That is because climate change, caused by the burning of fuels like gasoline and coal, has raised average global temperatures, creating drier conditions that allow wildfires, which are mostly mostly caused by humans, to burn longer and more intensely. While major fires often happen early in the year — in February 2024, Texas experienced the largest wildfire in state history — this year is a bit unusual 'because we're seeing it happen in so many places,' said Brad Rippey, a U.S. Department of Agriculture meteorologist who monitors drought. This week, 45% of the country is in drought, when historically it's around 20% at any given time, Rippey said. That dried out lots of fuel just waiting for a spark — from freeze-dried grasses in the southern Plains to downed trees and brush from hurricanes that ravaged parts of the southeast and southern Appalachians in recent years. The National Interagency Fire Center's significant wildfire outlook notes that several states still have debris from hurricanes Laura, Ida, Debby and Idalia in the past five years, as well as from ice storms and other severe weather. Add in gusty winds and low humidity, 'and you've got a pretty ripe situation for wildfires,' Rippey said. In Hurricane Helene-devastated North Carolina, power lines downed by strong winds have been blamed for two of three large fires that have burned for more than a week in an area where the mean relative humidity this month has been the lowest on record, officials said. Impassable areas and lots of toppled trees are making it difficult to reach intense and erratic fires that are spreading rapidly because of high winds and dry weather. Many roads have either been covered with storm debris or 'they have just been completely washed away,' said North Carolina Forest Service spokesman Philip Jackson, who said the fire danger could plague the state for years as more debris dries out. Much of Florida also is in drought, contributing to an earlier-than-normal fire season that included a massive brush fire in Miami-Dade County that at one point hindered travel to and from the Florida Keys. That fire is 95% contained while dozens of smaller fires continue to burn, according to the Florida Forest Service. Many counties are under red flag warnings, meaning conditions are favorable for fires to occur. West Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina also report large wildfires. The greatest wildfire potential is in the southeast and the southern Plains, and will be significant into April in most of Texas and parts of New Mexico and Arizona, as well as several southeastern states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. La Nina — a periodic cooling of the Pacific Ocean that can shift the jet stream and lead to cooler, drier air — might have affected conditions in the southern U.S., said Tim Brown, director of the Western Regional Climate Center. But there also has been long-term drying in the southwest as temperatures overall increase with global warming, said Rippey, who has monitored drought for more than 25 years. Warmer temperatures have led to more erratic precipitation that tends to fall more heavily in short periods, leading much of it to run off rather than soak into the ground. 'I do think that contributes to more wildfires,' he said. ___
