In their second-to-last game of the regular season, No. 20 Arkansas routed visiting Texas on Wednesday night in Fayetteville, 105–85, thanks to another stellar game by Razorbacks star freshman point guard Darius Acuff.
Acuff scored 28 points on 8-of-15 shooting and added 13 assists to just three turnovers in another incredibly efficient game for one of the best players in college basketball.
Texas coach Sean Miller heaped praise on Acuff after the game, calling him the best point guard he’s seen play in over three decades of coaching college basketball.
“Usually a guy like Acuff gets too much credit or too much respect as a young player in college basketball. That can happen sometimes when a guy is that highly touted and certainly has a bright future beyond college like he does,” Miller said after the game. “In my time—34 years—I have never seen a point guard better. When 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 … he averages 25 points a game … he shoots 40% from the three-point line. He leads our league in assists. … He’s a generational player. He’s really, really good. This No. 1 pick thing, like I don’t know why people aren’t talking about him more. I can’t imagine anybody better.”
Sean Miller on Darius Acuff:
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 5, 2026
"In my time of 34 years, I've never seen a point guard better... He's a generational player. This No. 1 pick thing, I don't know why people aren't talking about him more. I can't imagine anybody better" 👀
(🎥: @PigTrailNation) pic.twitter.com/PdMhWXVyks
Miller’s quote should be music to Arkansas coach John Calipari’s ears. Last month, the Razorbacks coach openly questioned why his guard isn’t in the national player of the year discussion.
Acuff is ninth nationally in scoring, averaging 22.2 points per game on 49.3% shooting from the floor. He’s scored 17 points or more in every game dating back to a Nov. 27 win over No. 4 Duke, a stretch of 24 straight games. He’s every bit the reason why Arkansas is a team that can make a serious run in the upcoming NCAA tournament.
Acuff’s NBA draft stock
While Miller said that he can’t imagine a player better than Acuff in the upcoming NBA draft, most mocks have Acuff as a top 10 pick, though nobody mocks him as the top overall selection. Draft analysts have concluded that the top three will be Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Duke’s Cameron Boozer, in some order.
After the top three, there seems to be a wide variety of opinions. If a point guard needy team ends up snagging the No. 4 pick, keep an eye on Acuff. There’s not many scorers more gifted than Acuff, and his penchant for taking care of the basketball is something that scouts will certainly fall in love with. The 6' 2" Acuff boasts roughly a 3:1 assist to turnover ratio in 34.7 minutes per game this season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Texas Coach Sean Miller Heaps Praise on Arkansas Star Point Guard Darius Acuff.
