March 4, 2026, 9:58 p.m. CT
FAYETTEVILLE — A couple weeks ago, John Calipari made a case during a postgame press conference that Arkansas basketball freshman Darius Acuff Jr. should be a candidate to be the National Player of the Year.
After his team suffered a 20-point loss to the Hogs on Wednesday, March 4, Texas coach Sean Miller took the praise one step further.
The No. 20 Razorbacks (22-8, 12-5 SEC) cruised to a 105-85 win over the Longhorns (18-12, 9-8) as Acuff scored 28 points and dished out 13 assists. Miller said the point guard should be considered for the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA Draft.
“He’s a generational player,” Miller said of Acuff. “He’s really, really good, and this, this No. 1 pick thing, like, I don’t know why people aren’t talking about him more. I can’t imagine anybody better. We felt that tonight.”
Acuff went 8 of 15 from the floor, made four 3-pointers and knocked down 8 of 10 free-throw attempts. He organized a blistering Arkansas pace and Texas couldn’t keep up.
On the season, Acuff is averaging 22.2 points and 6.4 assists. He’s on track to be the first person since Pete Maravich to lead the SEC in both categories.
In the latest NBA mock draft from The Athletic, Acuff was projected to be the No. 7 pick. NBA scouts are in a consensus that the 6-foot-3 guard from Detroit isn’t in the same tier as prospects like BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Duke’s Cameron Boozer or Kansas’ Darryn Peterson.
Miller disagrees with those assessments.
“I just have never been on a court where one player at that position is any better than he is,” Miller said. “You know, greatness is how I would describe his game. And seems like an amazing young man.”
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@usatodayco.com or follow him@jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.