Darius Acuff, a 5-star point guard, commits to Arkansas basketball and John Calipari

The first full recruiting cycle of a new Arkansas basketball era is off to a flying and historic start.

Darius Acuff committed to John Calipari and the Razorbacks Friday at a ceremony in his hometown of Detroit. The class of 2025 point guard who plays high school basketball for IMG Academy in Florida chose Arkansas over Kansas and Michigan.

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According to the 247Sports Composite, Acuff is the top-ranked point guard in the country and the No. 8 player overall. If Acuff sticks with his pledge and makes it to Fayetteville, he would become the second highest-ranked recruit in Arkansas basketball history, behind No. 1 overall Nick Smith in 2022.

Scouts describe Acuff as a physically-gifted guard who can get to the paint and score in traffic with a variety of moves. He displays a solid command of the pick-and-roll and is already a talented passer who could become even better with talented teammates around him.

“This is the most dynamic lead guard in this class. He is just capable of putting a team on his back,” 247 Director of Scouting Adam Finklestein said on a YouTube broadcast of Acuff’s announcement.

Detroit Cass Tech’s Darius Acuff (5) makes a layup against Birmingham Brother Rice during the second half at Calihan Hall in Detroit on Friday, March 3, 2023.

At 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds, Acuff already has prototypical size to play point guard in the NBA, and he has the chance to be a premier defender both in college and one day in the professional ranks. He averaged 21 points per game on Nike’s EYBL Circuit in 2024.

Acuff recently collected the MVP honor at the FIBA Men’s U18 AmeriCup, leading USA Basketball to a gold medal. He started all six games at the tournament and averaged 17.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4 assists. Acuff shined brightest on the biggest stage, dropping 26 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds in the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/darius-acuff-5-star-point-210509360.html

Author : Ft. Smith Southwest Times Record

Publish date : 2024-07-26 21:05:09

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