Justin Pippen, the youngest son of NBA legend Scottie Pippen, has announced that he will play college basketball next season at Michigan. The 6-foot-4 senior point guard from Sierra Canyon High School (Chatsworth, California) was one of the fastest rising in his high school senior class and chose the Wolverines over Cal, Florida, Texas A&M and Stanford.
“I'm really excited to go to Michigan,” Pippen told Yahoo Sports. “It's a great program and all the new coaching staff is on the same page and tells me I can come in and make an impact right away.”
After being the leading scorer for Sierra Canyon all season, Pippen has received interest from several Division I programs from around the country and recently visited UC Santa Barbara and Texas A&M, as well as Michigan last weekend.
“It was a great visit, being able to see the campus and meet the coaches,” Pippen said. “They told me to work and love the way I see the court and we're going to come in and make a statement in the Big Ten next year.”
Last summer, Pippen didn't play on any major AAU teams or on the circuit. Instead, he was in the gym with his older brother Scotty, who played three years at Vanderbilt and led the SEC in scoring (20.4 points per game) his junior year, went undrafted in the 2022 NBA draft and played for the Los Angeles Lakers. Picked up by the Memphis Grizzlies for two seasons. Kenyon Martin Jr., Devin Booker, Jalen Green and Kevin Durant were in the gym with the Pippen brothers at times during the summer.
“I feel like my brother has increased my work ethic,” Justin Pippen said. “Being in the gym with him this summer and the other pros, and my dad. He tells me to get up every day and do the work.”
Pippen finished his high school career at Sierra Canyon, playing with the four-star guard Isaiah is Elohim. Along with Amari Bailey, who was a star freshman at UCLA before being drafted by the Charlotte Hornets in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft, James played at USC. And Pippen played three years with Brony James before joining Amari Bailey.
“Every year, I've tried to take what I can from those players' games and try to get better, mainly on the defensive side because both Broney and Amari have been really good with the ball in their hands,” Pippen said.
It was the first big recruiting win for new head coach Dusty May as he also hired six new assistant coaches in finalizing his coaching staff. Pippen continues his father's basketball legacy and will be a freshman next season to see how well he can play as the primary ball handler and shoot the 3 from the dribble — something he learned from some of the greatest players to ever play the game. .
