Darius Acuff Jr. has proven himself to be one of the best freshmen in all of college basketball season while leading Arkansas to 23 wins and the third seed in the SEC tournament. But King McClure is almost ready to take his praise of Acuff to the next level.
Although he missed the Razorbacks' regular-season finale overtime win vs. Missouri due to an ankle injury, Acuff's last performance was exceptional; in Arkansas's final home game of the regular season, Acuff poured in 28 points and 13 assists, hitting four 3-pointers in a 20-point win over Texas. This was the 20th game this season in which Acuff scored 20 or more points, as well as the 10th time that had happened in the last 11 games Acuff played.
For the season, Acuff is averaging 22.2 points and 6.4 assists per game, both of which lead all players in the SEC. He has also shot 43.7% from 3-point range on nearly six attempts per game.
As a result, Acuff has McClure, a former Baylor player-turned-ESPN college basketball analyst, inching closer to crowning Acuff the statistically best guard John Calipari has ever coached, beating out the likes of Derrick Rose, John Wall, and reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“This guy might be arguably the best passer in the lottery, in Darius Acuff, leading the SEC in points and assists as a freshman. I mean, there’s a strong case — and I saw someone say this the other day — there's a strong case that Darius Acuff might be the best guard, as far as college stats, that has ever played for John Calipari. Let's take that into consideration,” McClure said on the ‘Hoop Collective'. “When it comes to stats, he might have the best season — I’m not saying he’ll have the best career because we have no idea how it’s going to pan out — but as far as one season under John Calipari, he’s arguably having the best season for any guard that’s played for John Calipari.”
The list of incredible guards Calipari has coached is no short list; in addition to the aforementioned trio, between Memphis and Kentucky, Calipari tutored the likes of NBA stars Devin Booker, Jamal Murray, De'Aaron Fox, as well as college basketball standouts Tyler Ulis and Aaron and Andrew Harrison. But it's still not blasphemous to say that few, if any, have been able to pull off what Acuff has in his one season at Arkansas.
Acuff has recorded five double-doubles this season, and each time he has tallied at least eight assists, which has happened nine times, the Razorbacks have won. His passing ability may only be dwarfed by his scoring ability, which he put on full display last month in a double-overtime loss at Alabama; in Tuscaloosa, Acuff scored 49 points in 50 minutes. He had six made 3-pointers, which was his second-most in any game this season, only behind his 7-for-10 heater against Auburn four days earlier.
In the latest mock draft by CBS Sports' Gary Parrish, Acuff was projected to go seventh overall to the Dallas Mavericks. That sentiment has been echoed broadly among the media, with The Athletic and Tankathon each mocking Acuff to Dallas, which would pair him with 2025 first overall pick Cooper Flagg.
Acuff and Arkansas await their SEC tournament opponent. As the third seed, they have two byes and will play No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 11 Oklahoma, or No. 14 South Carolina on Friday in the quarterfinals.
