Arkansas coach John Calipari has had his fair share of elite talent at the college level. From Derrick Rose during his time at Memphis to household names like John Wall, Devin Booker, Jamal Murray, De’Aaron Fox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Maxey, and Reed Sheppard at Kentucky — Coach Cal is widely known as one of the best developers to get talented guards ready for the NBA.
Of course, Calipari has literally produced dozens of first-round picks in the NBA Draft — mostly from his 15 seasons at Kentucky — but during his first season at Arkansas in 2024-25, he didn’t produce a single first-round pick. That snapped a streak of 17 seasons with at least one player selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. The lone player from Arkansas’ roster who was drafted last season was Adou Thiero, who went in the second round at No. 36 overall.
The good (and bad news) for Calipari and Arkansas is that the streak will most certainly end this summer when Darius Acuff Jr. is picked. Acuff, who captured SEC Player of the Year honors earlier this week and is more than likely to be an All-American when it’s all said and done, might be the best guard Calipari has had at the college level.
Acuff has been the star of the show at this week’s SEC Tournament. In Arkansas’ win over Oklahoma, Acuff finished with 37 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. In a dramatic win over Ole Miss on Saturday in the semifinals, Acuff recorded 24 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
Does that mean Acuff will become an NBA MVP like Gilgeous-Alexander or a multi-time NBA All-Star like Wall? Time will tell. But the numbers don’t lie. Acuff is having a historic season that is flying under the radar.
Case and point? The only players in SEC history to average at least 22 points and six assists in a season: Acuff and Pete Maravich. Acuff is currently averaging 22.2 points and 6.4 assists.
How Acuff stacks up vs. former guards who played for Cal
| Player | School | Season | PPG | Total Points | RPG | APG | 3-Pointers Made |
| Darius Acuff Jr. | Arkansas | 2025-26 | 22.7 | 726 | 3.1 | 6.4 | 80 |
| Derrick Rose | Memphis | 2007-08 | 14.9 | 597 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 36 |
| John Wall | Kentucky | 2009-10 | 16.6 | 616 | 4.3 | 6.5 | 37 |
| Devin Booker | Kentucky | 2014-15 | 10 | 381 | 2 | 1.1 | 58 |
| Jamal Murray | Kentucky | 2015-16 | 20 | 720 | 5.2 | 2.2 | 113 |
| De’Aaron Fox | Kentucky | 2016-17 | 16.7 | 602 | 4 | 4.6 | 24 |
| Malik Monk | Kentucky | 2016-17 | 19.8 | 754 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 104 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Kentucky | 2017-18 | 14.4 | 532 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 21 |
| Tyrese Maxey | Kentucky | 2019-20 | 14 | 435 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 34 |
In Arkansas’ 105-85 win over Texas earlier this month, Acuff finished with 28 points and 13 assists. Acuff has 18 games this season with at least 20 points and five assists, which is the most among all Division I players. Acuff has scored at least 20 points in 22 games this season.
Acuff’s performance was so impressive that the opposing coach spoke for over two minutes unprompted about Acuff and called him a “generational player.”
“In my time and I’ll just go 34 years, I’ve never seen a point guard better,” Texas coach Sean Miller said. “People talk about who’s going to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft or who’s the best player in the conference. … Guys like him, they just don’t come into college basketball very often. He’s a generational player. He’s really good. This No. 1 pick thing, I don’t know why people aren’t talking about him more. I can’t imagine anybody better.”
College basketball fans might be becoming desensitized to what Acuff is doing because of how good his freshman classmates have been. It seems like every night someone is breaking some record. However, Acuff has bragging rights with the highest individual scoring performance of any player in his class this season. Acuff went for 49 points in a double-overtime loss to Alabama last month.
In fact, Acuff was apparently in a walking boot days before that game. Still, he managed to play all 50 minutes and had a performance to remember. By scoring 49 points, he became the second guard Calipari has coached to score at least 40 points.
“He was in a boot for two days and still did that,” Calipari said last month. “I said, ‘Do you think you might have to miss this game?’ He said, ‘Are you nuts?’ He doesn’t care. Hurt, whatever it is. He was in a boot for two days … There’s not many. And I’ve coached some really good guards over the years, and I’ve had a few this way, but he’s right there with them. I’m just telling you. He’s unique and special, and I would imagine everybody saw it today. But it was a good game.”
The other time? In 2016, former Kentucky star Malik Monk dropped 47 points against UCLA. Monk had the highest scoring season by a freshman (754 points) under Caliapri and Acuff is on track to break that record. Acuff has 726 points and counting and could be well on his way to breaking that record.
What makes Acuff a future lottery pick?
In CBS Sports’ latest NBA Draft Prospect Rankings, Acuff is ranked as the No. 9 overall. Notably, he is behind several guards in his freshman class, including Houston’s Kingston Flemings, Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. and Illinois’ Keaton Wagler. At 6-foot-3, Acuff (by NBA standards) might be undersized, but he sure makes up for it with his toughness and basketball IQ.
Some (loose) comparisons that come to mind when watching Acuff play are former NBA guards Deron Williams, Mike Bibby and Stephon Marbury. Acuff is a knockdown shooter and has advanced passing skills. Acuff is shooting 49.5% on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, per Synergy. That number ranks No. 1 among all players with a minimum of 85 attempts.
As CBS Sports Director of Basketball Scouting, Adam Finkelstein notes, Acuff is a “natural alpha” who knows how to score at-will. It’s why he’s on track to become the highest-scoring freshman guard that Calipari has coached.
Who is best freshman guard? Darryn Peterson, Darius Acuff, Keaton Wagler, Kingston Flemings form top tier
Adam Finkelstein
“Acuff is just a catalyst on the offensive end of the floor because of his knack for understanding how to score the basketball,” Finkelstein said. “He has added new weapons this year because the shooting has gotten more consistent, and he has become more dangerous as a passer. As the season has gone on, he has figured out ways to pressure the rim and separate more explosively and finish more consistently. He really just makes the defense pick their poison, and he is so polished with his individual offense, and he has so many weapons in his arsenal that he can take advantage of whatever the coverage is.”
The 2026 NBA Draft is considered a “Big Three” at the top with Duke’s Cameron Boozer, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa vying for the right to go No. 1 overall. Peterson (+100) is the current favorite, with Dybantsa (+120) not far behind, per FanDuel.
After those three players, North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson is considered the favorite to go No. 4 overall. After that, it’s a dealer’s choice with a glut of talented guards — like Acuff — expected to be in the mix.
At Kentucky, Calipari saw just one guard earn first-team All-American honors as a freshman. That was Wall, who went on to become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. Acuff is well on his way to landing on that team and joining the list.
With one more game remaining in the SEC title game and then the NCAA Tournament, there is plenty of time for Acuff to add to his totals and leave his mark. One thing has been for certain: After this season, there’s a debate on who the best freshman guard Calipari has coached is.
And it might just be Acuff. A deep run in March could solidify it.
