Providence is on the board with class of 2026 wing Aiden Derkack. Let's dig into his game.
Make no mistake, Providence’s coaching staff have long been fans of Aiden Derkack, the top-75 wing out of New Jersey who announced his commitment to the Friars on Wednesday.
While their interest in him flew under the radar in some corners, Derkack’s name was one that continually came up in conversations about 2026 prospects this spring and summer — and after he visited campus last weekend, Providence got their guy.
In Derkack, Providence is getting a wing ranked #53 by 247 Sports, 45th by ESPN, and #66 by On3.com in the class of 2026.
His defining trait may be his competitive nature, while he does all sorts of damage offensively by scoring on cuts.
Derkack, who stands 6’6, finished fourth at the Nike Peach Jam in scoring (21.4 PPG), highlighted by a monster 37-point performance against back-to-back Peach Jam champions, Brad Beal Elite.
He also went for 22 points, six rebounds, and three assists against Expressions Elite at Peach Jam — the final leg of Nike’s summer circuit.
How he gets his points:
Derkack is a very good transition scorer and outstanding cutter.
Playing for powerhouse Team Final, he ranked in the 98th percentile in scoring off cuts this summer, and gets to the lane going either right or left off the bounce.
He was also terrific in the paint, ranking in the 96th percentile of all grassroots players in scoring at the rim (on 108 field goal attempts). Here’s a breakdown of Derkack scoring this summer:
Providence’s staff also thinks Derkack shows promise as a passer, sporting a 1.26 assist/turnover ratio for Team Final.
The next step in his development will be refining his jump shot.
The biggest question mark surrounding Derkack will be his jumper. He struggled both behind the arc (17-77, 22%) and from the free throw line (46-77, 60%) in Nike play this spring and summer. He shot 27% on catch and shoot opportunities.
Providence’s coaches will have to assume that they can square away the jumper, and if they do they would have a really versatile offensive weapon at their disposal.
Here’s about a minute and a half of assorted makes and misses from deep this summer:
The Bottom Line:
In Derkack, Kim English and his coaching staff get a player they’ve been high on for quite some time. He averaged 24.7 points and 8.1 rebounds last season at Colonia High School in New Jersey, earning offers from the likes of Xavier, Creighton, Miami, Rutgers, Villanova, Dayton, USC, and TCU along the way.
There will be some comparisons to Ryan Mela due to their offensive profile, but Derkack may be more of a 2/3 wing, while Mela can slide over to the four.
After a great career in the New Jersey high school ranks, Derkack will spend his senior season playing for prep power Spire Academy. Spire head man Kevin Boyle is one of the most successful coaches ever, winning multiple national championships and coaching three different players who went #1 in the NBA Draft in Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, and Cade Cunningham. He also coached Joel Embiid and Scottie Barnes while they were in high school. Boyle left Montverde Academy to take over at Spire this year.
Already possessing a high basketball IQ, Derkack will receive great coaching his senior year.
English and Co. have brought in tremendous wing talent from the high school ranks, with Mela earning Big East All-Freshman honors last season, and both Jamier Jones and Jaylen Harrell coming to Friartown with huge high school reps. Plus, Providence welcomed talented freshman Stefan Vaaks from overseas last spring.
Derkack comes from a family of hoopers. As Zags Blog noted this summer, his father played Division 1 basketball, while his older brother has had a very good college career that has spanned stops at Merrimack, Rutgers, and now Dayton. His sister is a freshman on the UMass basketball team.
When speaking to Zags Blog about the Friar staff, Derkack shared, “Their staff is amazing. I got an offer from them last year, which means a lot because they have been here for a while. They’re always at my games. I don’t think they’ve missed a game at any live period this summer. So yeah, I have a very good relationship with them, and they have a great staff.”
As far as what he brings to the court, Derkack highlighted his competitiveness, following a matchup with Tyran Stokes, the number one player in the class of 2026: “I don’t care about no rankings, if you have all these offers or not, I’m just going to play hard… And if he’s talking (noise), I’m going to talk (noise) back. I’m not going to back down from anyone.”
Sounds like a player who will fit in just fine at Providence.
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Love this addition. It speaks to Kim’s recruiting prowess that he pivoted so quickly off Toure to land a top 50…that’s impressive.
Derkack’s move to SPIRE seems double-edged to me…it’s a great sign that he was was recruited/admitted there. Boyle is an amazing coach and a well connected one, obviously.
I can see his game materially improving under Boyle…but can also see Boyle influencing him if he does make a jump. I feel like he’s got a direct pipeline/NIL budget line at Duke…and there’s a 6’5 170lb former top 50 recruit with a similar gritty profile that has a pretty important role there….