Providence continues to get elite 2026 talent on campus for visits, and the next in line is Garden State shooting guard Aiden Derkack. Derkack hails from Colonia, NJ, but is playing his senior season for SPIRE Academy under the old St. Patrick (NJ) and Monteverde Academy head coach Kevin Boyle. Wherever Boyle goes, he attracts top end talent and consistently has Top 5 nationally ranked prep programs. Thus, Derkack going to SPIRE should alone speak volumes of his skill level.
Derkack is Colonia’s all time leading scorer despite only playing there three years and is looking to fast track his development before college by playing upper echelon teams his senior year. While I’m sure the decision wasn’t an easy one, I applaud the decision for his long term basketball future.
We break down his game, recruitment, and fit with the Friars below.
Derkack is a consensus Top 75 recruit and 4 star. The competition for Aiden in this recruitment will be fierce, as he has offers from Dayton, Indiana, Creighton, and Maryland, amongst others. Aiden’s brother Jordan will be playing his senior year at Dayton, so if he has a stellar year, Dayton could be a sleeper team in play here.
The Creighton offer is one that should check the box on Derkack’s offensive toolkit, as I trust Coach Mac on his evaluation skills on the offensive end arguably more than any coach in America.
What I like about Derkack most is his passion and intensity he plays with. Playing hard consistently is absolutely a skillset, and Derkack has that. He also plays with a bit of an edge to him, and you need guys like that in your locker room and on the court.
I don’t think I’ve ever written this before about a prospect, but I think his best attribute is his ability to move without the basketball. He is not a stagnant player and helps his teammates with his constant movement. He finds ways to create offense with back-cuts that lead to easy lay-ins and finishes. You can tell he was taught the game properly with the way he plays when the ball isn’t in his hands. It’s refreshing.
There is versatility to his game. He can play above the rim, finish at the rim, and also score in the mid range and beyond the three point line. He’s a complete two guard who can also be an asset on the glass.
Fit With Providence
If Derkack were to commit to Providence, he may have to bide his time for a year before getting consistent minutes. The wing is particularly well stocked in Friartown, with the following players at the 2/3 spot having eligibility after this season: Vaaks, Mela, Barron, Harrell, Jones. He won’t be forced into playing time out of necessity, and that is a good thing! Landing a guy like Derkack makes an already healthy position healthier and can help English play positionless basketball at the 2-4 spots.
Providence has had a rough go of things in the 2026 Class when it comes to landing commitments. There were a few players destined to be Friars before reclassifying to 2025, as well as a few recruits who chose another school instead of Providence. It’d be nice to get a win in the 2026 class for recruiting momentum, especially a Top 75 4 star like Derkack.
While the enthusiasm around this recruitment won’t match Toure or Holt, a commitment here should be universally praised. Derkack is somebody whose stock should rise playing at SPIRE and could easily finish as a Top 50 nationally ranked kid not far behind where Toure is ranked. All things considered, Derkack is closely ranked to where Jamier Jones finished up, and we all have extremely high expectations for the Florida native. Derkack is a high IQ, intense player who would augment the roster of Providence.
This may be a sleeper recruitment that Providence ends up winning, and you leave yourself wondering 2-3 years from now why there wasn’t more hype or fanfare around Aiden’s recruitment. Some recruitments are no frills, and this one appears to be trending in that direction.
Let’s hope for an outstanding official visit this weekend.
Providence Crier Recruiting Articles
Toure’s Commitment to Arkansas: My Perspective – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/10/03/takeaways-from-toures-commitment-to-arkansas-providence-perspective/
Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing Caleb Holt: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/09/16/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-5-star-2026-shooting-guard-caleb-holt/
2027 High School Recruiting Primer, Version 2 – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/06/17/2027-high-school-recruiting-primer-version-1-0/
Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing 2026 F Alex Egbuonu – https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/06/25/crier-recruiting-corner-26-f-alex-egbuonu/
Peteris Pinnis Commits to Providence: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/05/13/friars-add-latvian-big-pinnis-to-2024-2025/
Duncan Powell Flips to Providence: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/04/21/duncan-powell-flips-commitment-from-georgetown-to-providence/
Jaylin Sellers Commits to Providence: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/04/05/friars-end-historic-day-by-landing-ucf-guard-jaylin-sellers/
Jason Edwards Commits to Providence: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/04/04/friars-land-talented-vanderbilt-guard-jason-edwards/
Stefan Vaaks Commits to Providence: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/04/04/friars-recruiting-overseas-best-kept-international-secret-stefan-vaaks-joins-the-friars-for-2025-season/
Crier Recruiting Corner: Jason Edwards:https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/04/04/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-vanderbilt-guard-jason-edwards/
Daquan Davis Commits to Providence:https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/04/02/second-time-is-the-charm-one-time-friar-commit-daquan-davis-transfers-to-providence/
Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing Cole Hargrove: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/04/01/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-drexel-forward-cole-hargrove/
Retention Attention: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/03/22/retention-attention-whos-in-whos-out-in-providence/
What Went Wrong 2024-2025 Season: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/03/12/what-went-wrong-this-season/
Crier Recruiting Corner: Abdou Toure: https://theprovidencecrier.com/2025/03/03/crier-recruiting-corner-introducing-2026-connecticut-wing-abdou-toure/
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