Darius Acuff Jr.
6-2, 180, G
Detroit, Mich. || IMG Academy (Fla.)
X – @DariusAcuff • Instagram – @dariusacuff5
CLICK HERE FOR FULL DARIUS ACUFF JR. BIO/STATS/RECORDS/NCAA & SEC RANKINGS
QUICK HITS
• Set an record for with 8 weekly honors • a record 7 Freshman of the Week honors and 1 SEC Player of the Week honor
• Is just the third player to earn SEC player of the year and SEC freshman of the year in the same season, joining Anthony Davis (2012) and Brandon Miller (2023)
• SET ARKANSAS SINGLE SEASON RECORDS FOR POINTS (845) and ASSISTS (232)
^ His 845 points rank 9th on the SEC single-season list ^ His 232 assists rank 9th (tied) on the SEC single-season list
^ ACUFF IS THE ONLY PLAYER ON THE SEC SINGLE SEASON TOP 10 LISTS FOR POINTS AND ASSISTS
• Joined Pete Maravich as the ONLY PLAYERS IN SEC HISTORY to lead the league in scoring and assists in the same season
• 23.47 pts/gm || 3rd in the NCAA & 1st in the SEC
• 6.44 ast/gm || 14th in the NCAA & 1st n the SEC
• ONLY PLAYER IN THE NCAA to average 20 pts & 6 assists and was just 1 of 4 players in the NCAA to shoot at least 48% from the field (18.4%) and 44% from 3PT (44.0%)
HONORS
• 2026 Bob Cousy Award Winner
• 2026 John R. Wooden Award Finalist (1 of 5)
• 2026 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Finalist (1 of 4)
• 2026 Lute Olson Award Finalist
• 2026 Kyle Macy Award Finalist
• UNANIMOUS 1st TEAM ALL-AMERICA
– 1st Team All-American (AP)
– 1st Team All-American (USBWA)
– 1st Team All-American (The Sporting News)
– 1st Team All-American (NABC)
– Wooden Award All-America (1, 10-player team)
– Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Starting Five
– 1st Team All-American (CBS Sports)
– 1st Team All-American (CollegeHoopsToday)
– 1st Team All-Rolls Royce (Dick Vitale)
– 1st Team All-American (Field of 68)
– 1st Team All-American (Bleacher Report)
SEC Player of the Year (Coaches)
SEC Player of the Year (AP)
SEC Freshman of the Year (Coaches)
SEC Freshman of the Year (AP)
SEC Player of the Year (CollegeHoopsToday)
SEC Player of the Year (HoopsHD)
SEC Player of the Year (USA TODAY Sports Network)
SEC Newcomer of the Year (USA TODAY Sports Network)
SEC Rookie of the Year (HoopsHD)
1st Team All-Southeast District (NABC)
1st Team All-SEC (Coaches)
1st Team All-SEC (AP)
1st Team All-SEC (CollegeHoopsToday)
1st Team All-SEC (USA TODAY Sports Network)
SEC Tournament MVP
SEC All-Tournament Team
WEEKLY NATIONAL HONORS
• Naismith National Player of the Week (1/5)
• AP National Player of the Week (2/24)
• USBWA co-National Player of the Week (2/24)
• Dick Vitale’s Diaper Dandy of the Week (12/5)
• Dick Vitale’s Diaper Dandy of the Week (1/5)
• Dick Vitale’s Diaper Dandy of the Week (2/16)
• NCAA March Madness National Freshman of the Week (1/5)
• CBS Sports National Freshman of the Week (1/6)
• CBS Sports National Freshman of the Week (2/24)
SEC WEEKLY HONORS
• Freshman of the Week (12/8)
• Freshman of the Week (12/15)
• Freshman of the Week (12/22)
• Freshman of the Week (1/5)
• Freshman of the Week (1/12)
• Freshman of the Week (1/26)
• Freshman of the Week (2/16)
• Player of the Week (2/23)
QUICK HIGHLIGHTS
• Set Arkansas single-season records for points (845) and assists (232).
– His 845 points rank 9th on the SEC single-season list
– His 232 assists rank 9th (tied) on the SEC single-season list
– Is the only player on the SEC single-season top 10 lists for both points and assists
• Joined Pete Maravich as the only players in SEC history to lead the league in scoring and assists in the same season.
• Ranked 3rd in the NCAA in points per game (23.47), leading the SEC and ranking 2nd among NCAA freshmen
• Ranked 14th in the NCAA in assists per game (6.44), leading the SEC and ranking 2nd among NCAA freshmen
• Ranked 10th in the NCAA in 3-point percentage (44.0%), ranking second in the SEC and 2nd among NCAA freshmen
• Was the only player in the NCAA to average at least 20 points and 6 assists. Was 1 of 4 players to shoot at least 48% from the field and 44% from 3-point range.
• Overall, averaged 23.47 points and 6.44 assists. However, his numbers improved 24.82 points and 6.65 in SEC games and, versus Arkansas’s 12 AP top-25 opponents, Acuff averaged 24.25 points and 6.33 assists.
• Had at least 20 points and 5 assists in 21 games, the most my any NCAA DI player.
• Acuff and Oklahoma’s Trae Young (2017-18) are the only two freshmen this century in Power 5 conferences to average 23+ PPG and 6+ APG. Also, Acuff’s 4 games with at least 20 points and 6 assists in the same game are 2nd-most ever by an NCAA Freshman behind Young’s 11.
• Is the 27th player in NCAA D1 men’s history to get 700+ points, 200+ assists & 100+ rebounds in a season.
• At the SEC Tournament, averaged a record 30.3 points per game. His 91 points were the 2nd-most by any player in SEC Tournament history, but the most by a player to only play three games. (Allan Houston scored a record 98 points in 4 games.)
• At the NCAA Tournament, is the only player to have 60+ points, 10+ assists & 5 or fewer turnovers over any 2-game span in the NCAA Tournament (since assists became official in 1983-84).
• Joined Derrick Rose and Chris Paul as the only freshmen since 2004 with multiple NCAA Tourney games with at least 20 points and 5 assists.
• Scored the most points by a freshman in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament with 60 (24 vs Hawai’i and 36 vs High Point).
• His 6 points/assists double-doubles this year are the most by a Razorback.
• Had three games with at least 20 points and five assists with 1 or fewer turnovers. In fact, at Alabama, he had 49 points, five rebounds, five assists and one turnover while playing all 50 minutes of the double overtime game. The only other NCAA DI player and/or NBA player to reach those total was Kobe Bryant when he had 47 points, eight rebounds, five assists and one turnover whole playing all 48 minutes versus Portland (4/10/13).
• In 36 games played, led the Hogs in scoring 24 times and assists 31 times. Also, he scored at least 20 points 26 times – including 5 30-point games and 1 40-point game; made a 3-pointer in 35 games, including 16 games making 3-plus; ad 3-plus assists in 34 games, including 28 games with 5-plus; and five game with 5-plus rebounds.
• Set 11 Arkansas freshman season records and ranked among the programs’ all-time top 10 single-season lists for points (1st), assists (1st), field goals attempted (1st), field goals made (2nd), points per game (3rd), 3-point percentage (7th), free throws made (9th) and 3-pointers made (T-9th). In SEC games only, Acuff set school single-season records for scoring average, assists, field goals made and field goal attempts whole ranking second in total points (422 points in 17 games behind Mason Jones’s 424 points in 18 games), sixth in free throws made and seventh in free throw attempts.
High School:
| Publication | Rating | National Rank | Positional Rank | State Rank |
| 247Sports | 5 Star | 5 | 1 PG | 2 FLA |
| ESPN | 5 Star | 7 | 1 PG | 1 MICH |
| On3 Composite | 5 Star | 9 | 2 PG | 2 FLA |
| 247 Composite | 5 Star | 10 | 2 PG | 3 FLA |
| Rivals | 5 Star | 13 | 4 PG | — |
| On3 | 4 Star | 21 | 3 PG | 4 FLA |
• 2025 Allen Iverson National Player of the Year
• 2025 EYBL Scholastic Player of the Year
• 1 of 5 Finalists for the 2025 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Player of the Year
• 1 of 10 Finalists for the MaxPreps National Player of the Year
• 2025 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Boys High School All-America (1st Team)
• 2025 McDonald’s All-American
• 2025 Jordan Brand Classic
• 2025 Iverson Classic All-American Game (MVP)
• 2025 USA Nike Hoop Summit team
• #11 on the USA TODAY High School Sports basketball rankings: Top 15 players in the 2025 class.
• 2023-24 MaxPreps honorable mention All-America and second team Junior All-America.
• As a junior, averaged 20.4 points and 5.5 assists per game for IMG Academy, helping the Ascenders post a 20-9 record and rank sixth in the final MaxPreps poll.
• Also in 2023-24, led all players with 21.4 scoring average while ranking second in assists (3.7 avg) in the 12 games of the EYBL Scholastic
• Averaged 23.9 points and 3.6 assists for The Family in the 2024 Nike EYBL spring circuit.
• Played at Cass Technical HS in Detroit before transferring to IMG Academy for his junior season.
• As a sophomore, named the 2023 MaxPreps Michigan High School Basketball Player of the Year and second team MaxPreps Sophomore All-America.
• Averaged 21.4 points and 5.7 assists as a sophomore and led Cass Tech to the 2023 MHSAA Division 1 title.
TEAM USA:
• 2024 FIBA Men’s U18 AmeriCup: Tournament MVP and named to the All-Star Five … Led the USA to a gold medal … Averaged 17.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.0 assists … In the championship game against Argentina, scored 26 points, had nine assists, six rebounds, and three steals.
• 2024 Men’s Junior National Team October minicamp.
• 2023 Men’s Junior National Team October minicamp.
