By ALEJANDRO LOPEZ & SAM LANCE
KANSAS CITY, KS — Many high school prospects play defense at a high level, but nobody enjoys it as much as four-star class of 2026 prospect Aiden Derkack.
“I think I think my best trait is being the glue of the team,” Derkack told ZAGSBLOG. “I don’t have to score 30 points a game for me to impact a game, but every game, I feel like I make the other kids on my team better, which is very important. And I have a lot to improve on and get stronger. These kids are big, so continuing to stay in the weight rooms is a big deal.”
The 6-5 guard’s game is predicated on his versatility and his ability to play and defend multiple positions on the court.
“I honestly don’t really have a position,” Derkack said. “I will play 1-3, 1-4. I love to attack the rim. I love open shots. And I’m a dog on defense. If you see it, I guard the best player pretty much every game, and I take pride in doing that.”
Derkack’s pride stems in large part from his upbringing alongside a family of athletes.
“So my dad [Jean Derkack] played Division 1 basketball at FIU, and my mom played Division I soccer there,” he said. “My brother [Jordan Derkack] was at Merrimack his first two years, transferred to Rutgers this past year, then transferred to Dayton.”
Now, Aiden looks to follow in the footsteps of the rest of his family as he prepares to hoop at the collegiate level. During his last high school season, he received visits from programs such as Florida, Villanova, Providence, Xavier, Miami and Creighton. He has taken a visit to Miami and Providence and plans to take official visits in August/September.
Derkack’s offer list includes Albany, Creighton, Dayton, Maryland, Merrimack, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Providence, Radford, Rutgers, TCU and Xavier. Here’s how he broke down his recruitment process so far:
Miami: “Miami is a beautiful place. I’m very familiar with the place. Yeah, it was a cool place for sure.”
Providence: “Providence also, great campus, great coaches. It was great.”
Villanova: “I got offered by the previous staff and I’ve been talking to the new staff a lot. They’re also great coaches, obviously they know how to coach. So yeah it is a great staff over there.”
Derkack’s priority in his search for the right program is a great coaching staff that understands him as a player.
“My most important thing is for great coaches that understand me as a player and as a person,” he said.
“And obviously, as I said before, I want to win, so I want to go wherever I need to win now.”
Derkack is the No. 69-ranked prospect in the class of 2026. His favorite NBA player is his uncle Raja Bell, his favorite artist is Frank Ocean and his favorite hobby outside of basketball is fishing.
Photo via On3.
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