Super simple answer - solved!
my full answer here it is now built in in some oracle versions.
select group_id,
regexp_replace(
listagg(name, ',') within group (order by name)
,'([^,]+)(,\1)*(,|$)', '\1\3')
from demotable
group by group_id;
This only works if you specify the delimiter to ',' not ', ' ie
works only for no spaces after the comma. If you want spaces after the comma - here is a example how.
select
replace(
regexp_replace(
regexp_replace('BBall, BBall, BBall, Football, Ice Hockey ',',\s*',',')
,'([^,]+)(,\1)*(,|$)', '\1\3')
,',',', ')
from dual
gives
BBall, Football, Ice Hockey