It’s the time of year when teams at the bottom of the NBA standings turn their attention to the NBA Draft prospects on display in the NCAA’s March Madness tournament. With the Sacramento Kings currently owning the 4th-best lottery odds, they could fall as far as 8th leaving new prospects in play.
The lottery talent that has helped his draft value the most this season seems to have been Arkansas freshman point guard Darius Acuff. The Drive Guys were joined by Dan Bonner, a former NCAA player at Virginia and current CBS Sports broadcaster, to break down the madness of March and the prospects involved.
Averaging 23.3 points and 6.5 assists while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 44.6 percent from three on 5.8 attempts will catch everyone’s attention. Among D1 players, Acuff ranked 4th in points and 12th in assists while sitting for less than five minutes of the 40-minute action per night.
When asked if he’s shown that he’s the best guard in the country, Bonner hesitated.
“Oh, boy, that’s a good question. He might be. He might be,” he told The Drive Guys. “He’s got a little bit more abilities, I think, than the (Jeremy) Fears kid from Michigan State. I’m hard-pressed to say that somebody other than the (Tamin) Lipsey kid from Iowa State is the best point guard in college. Now, Lipsy, I don’t think is the best pro prospect, but you could convince me that Acuff is the best point guard in college basketball. I would buy that.”
Matt George shared on The Matt & Kayla Show that Sacramento is intrigued by the Razorback PG’s game.
“Now, I have no idea where he sits on the Sacramento Kings board. I have no idea where he sits on any team’s board, but I did some digging, asked some questions, and got a pretty definitive response that the Sacramento Kings are really big fans of Darius Acuff,” George said.
Most NBA draft analysts have a clear top three of AJ Dybansta, Darryn Peterson, and Cameron Boozer, while Caleb Wilson is commonly ranked fifth. But, from there, diversity exists amongst a small pool of players that includes Kingston Flemings, Keaton Wagler, Nate Ament, Mikel Brown Jr., and Acuff.
That’s nine players before what most people believe is a talent tier break, making the Kings’ lottery luck pivotal. Owning the fourth-best odds can drop them as low as 8th (2.2 percent chance), but landing either 7th (16.7 percent) or 8th (25.7 percent) would be the most likely outcome.
Of course, they still would own a 12.5 percent chance at the first overall pick and 48.1 percent odds to hear their names called in the top four. So, would the Kings’ general manager, Scott Perry, consider Acuff as high as fourth, or could it be someone they’re keeping an eye on in case the ping pong balls don’t fall in their favor?
Bonner had plenty of other great insights about March Madness, the state of college basketball, incoming NBA Draft prospects, and plenty more.
Check out the full interview with Dan Bonner by scrolling to the top of the page or by clicking here.
Listen to The Drive Guys from 2 – 6 p.m. PST, Monday through Friday, on Sactown Sports 1140.
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When is the next Sacramento Kings game?
The Sacramento Kings will embark on their final road trip of the season with a five-game East Coast swing that begins on Tuesday afternoon in Charlotte.
Sacramento dropped a 117-109 contest to Charlotte at Golden 1 Center on March 11th as the Hornets used a 30-point effort from LaMelo Ball to hold off the Kings.
Be sure to catch all of the Sacramento Kings vs. Charlotte Hornets action right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage beginning at 2:00 PM PT on The Drive Guys before a 4:00 pm PT tip-off from downtown Sacramento.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
- Tuesday, March 24th – @ Charlotte Hornets – 4:00 PM PT
- Thursday, March 26th – @ Orlando Magic – 4:00 PM PT
- Saturday, March 28th – @ Brooklyn Nets – 4:00 PM PT
- Sunday, March 29th @ Brooklyn Nets – 3:00 PM PT
- Wednesday, April 1st @ Toronto Raptors – 5:00 PM PT
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