By SAM LANCE
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — The most productive player at Nike EYBL Peach Jam may have been class of 2026 four-star prospect Aiden Derkack.
The 6-foot-5 shooting guard/wing out of Colonia (NJ) was a menace for Team Final and didn’t back down from anybody. Particularly in a game vs. Tyran Stokes, Derkack found himself pitted against the No. 1 overall prospect. There was a moment where Stokes exchanged some words and ran his shoulder into Derkack. The four-star clapped right back, and the two had to be told to settle down by the referee.
“I don’t care about no rankings, if you have all these offers or not, I’m just going to play hard,” Derkack told ZAGSBLOG. “And if he’s talking shit, I’m going to talk shit back. I’m not going to back down from anyone.”
Derkack finished the contest with 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists and held Stokes to just 14 points and seven turnovers. Overall at Peach Jam, Derkack averaged 21.4 points, the fourth-highest mark of any player. He added 6.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 56.6% from the field. What led him to such a successful week?
“I think just putting the work in is the most important thing, just always wanting to get better,” Derkack said. “I don’t think we’ve had a great Peach Jam as a team itself, but I think we’ve all learned a lot from it and grown from it as players. So I’m glad we all got to experience it.”
Defensively, Derkack has grown a ton this summer. He’s embraced matchups against five-star players and has held his own. He previously told ZAGSBLOG he’s a pest on defense, and he’s backed it up with his play since.
“I feel like I have taken a big step in that part and just being a dog on the court,” Derkack said. “Being a dog on the court in all areas I think I’ve excelled at, especially at Peach.”
In June, Derkack went to Pangos and NBPA Top 100 camp. He’ll be attending Jayson Tatum camp in August.
Aiden isn’t the only hooper in the family. His father, Gene, played Division 1 basketball at FIU where he met Aiden’s mom, who played Division I soccer for the Panthers. Aiden’s older brother, Jordan, played at Merrimack for two seasons before transferring to Rutgers, and now Dayton for the 2025-26 season.
“He loves it at Dayton,” Aiden said. “They’re going to have a good team this year. The coaching staff he loves, so he’s going to have a great year this year.”
Dayton is one of the schools involved in the four-star’s recruitment, along with programs like Butler, Creighton, Indiana, Maryland, Providence, USC, Villanova and Xavier. Derkack hasn’t scheduled any visits yet, but he will be soon.
“I probably won’t visit all of those schools,” Derkack said. “I’ll probably only visit 4-5 of them, make my decision fairly quickly. Thinking like start of November.”
The plan is for Derkack to sign early. He gave his thoughts on some of the schools involved:
Providence: “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.”
Creighton: “Also a great staff. Always a great program. Produce a ton of NBA players, which is great.”
Maryland: “My trainer and the assistant have some ties, so it’s been cool to talk to the assistant a lot. Also a great staff. Always a good program in the Big 10.”
Dayton: “Dayton is great. I’m going to be at a lot of their games this year. So it’s going to be great to talk to the staff a lot more and understand their playstyle in depth. I’m going to be pretty much watching every single game, so I’m going to enjoy that.”
Villanova: “I got an offer from them with the previous staff, but I recently just got reoffered by them. Great coach. I love the staff. It’s close to home, which is great. So yeah, we’ll see how this all plays out.”
ZAGSBLOG spotted Creighton’s Greg McDermott, Indiana’s Darian DeVries, Maryland’s Buzz Williams, Villanova’s Kevin Willard and assistants from Butler, Providence, USC and Xavier courtside to watch Derkack play at some point in Augusta.
The most important factor for Derkack’s decision?
“Having a great coaching staff that understands me as a player and a person,” Derkack said. “But also somewhere that can get me to the next level, which is the NBA, which is the main goal.”
Derkack is ranked the No. 48 overall prospect in the 2026 class by 247Sports.
Photo via The Daily Hoosier.
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