RealGM

I believe it's about time to start a thread on this guy...

18.2 PPG, 2.5 3PG, 47.7/44.3%/72.5% shooting splits, 6.1 AST with only 1.8 TOV. Only 0.9 STL on 32.2 MPG, but he does seem like he cares on D, usually sticks to his man at the point of attack.

I've watched his full game against Louisville and highlights against Duke and Texas Tech. While Callipari may have been a bit PR-oriented with the Derrick Rose comp, I can see it, though he's probably not as athletic and explosive (but about 85% of Rose, who was a 1% athlete?). The college measurements are identical - 6'3 ", 190. Rose measured at the combine as 6'2.5 with shoes,196 lbs, and with a 6'8 wingspan. Acuff's wingspan was measured as 6'5.5 on June 2023 (Nike Elite 100), when he was 17.5 years old. I have no idea how much he could've grown since, but let's assume he won't reach Rose's wingspan. However, he would definitely be much longer than Kyrie (6'4 wingspan at the combine), who's another comp that I'm considering for Acuff.

As for the eye test, I'll post a full profile on my website soon enough, but I was really impressed with his shooting (with a glimpse of movement shooting), his first step, drive, and kick-out game, lob passing, cross-court passing, absorbing contact at the rim, utilizing his athleticism for mid-range jumpers, acrobatic floaters, and more.
Also, his handles are very tight and smooth; it's nearly impossible to pressure this guy, and if you double-up on him, he'll usually throw a pinpoint pass to the open man.

The main issues on offense, from what I observed, are the occasional tunnel vision drives, forcing the issue, etc. However, he's not overly ball-dominant. I witnessed some good off-ball movement and well-executed moves off a DHO.
Back to his shooting, he can either pull up from behind the arc if his defender is sagging off him, and also catch-and-shoot. But I'm guessing that some people will point out his relatively low FT%, and the small sample size. We'll see how it goes as the season progresses, and I haven't checked his high school shooting data yet.

One more thing, I did notice Mykel Brown checking him twice on key possessions at the 2nd half, and Acuff did not attempt a single move against him, with or without a screen. If taller, lengthy defenders bother him, this would surely be an issue at the next level.

On defense, I didn't notice anything worrisome, maybe his STL% and BLK% are too low? and sure, he'll most likely be a one-position-defender, though I like his strong, compact build so who knows, he might be able to hold his own when forced to switch against wings.

Anyway, I know it's a top-heavy class, including some notable PG prospects (Brown, Flemings, Philon, Stirtz, Christian Anderson - who also really impressed me, but I only watched him on the Arkansas-Texas Tech full highlights vid for now); even so, it baffles me to see Acuff ranked around 18 to 24 in most of the recent mocks and big boards.

What are your thoughts?

My thought is that every draft there are about 10pgs who seem reasonable in the first round and that non-transcendent guard prospects just have a chance to drop. 18 to 24 feels pretty reasonable, so does a bit higher. I am intru8ged by him, though.

I think he's PG1 and should firmly be in the top 5 mix

Im intrigued to watch Houston vs Arkansas more specifically acuff vs flemings matchup. Apparently acuff got the better of him in the highschool tournament.

He might be the best table-setting PG in the draft, and I could see him holding up fine on defense due to his physicality. How high he should go depends on what you expect from his scoring game. I can see a wide range for him but for me he's at least currently in the mix with a bunch of other players for the spots outside the top 4. Having him anywhere from 5th to somewhere in the teens all seems justifiable for me, and if you really doubt his scoring you could even justify going lower – though I personally would struggle to make that case at the moment.

babyjax13 wrote:My thought is that every draft there are about 10pgs who seem reasonable in the first round and that non-transcendent guard prospects just have a chance to drop. 18 to 24 feels pretty reasonable, so does a bit higher. I am intru8ged by him, though.

Is he non-transcendent, though? I see the mixture of handles, athleticism & physicality, and 3-level scoring as quite rare for a young prospect.
Anyway, here's his profile. I went with the Marbury comp, hopefully Acuff will have a better reputation once he makes it in the league.

https://www.hoops-bg.net/prospects/2026/9/Darius-Acuff

Telfaire wrote:

babyjax13 wrote:My thought is that every draft there are about 10pgs who seem reasonable in the first round and that non-transcendent guard prospects just have a chance to drop. 18 to 24 feels pretty reasonable, so does a bit higher. I am intru8ged by him, though.

Is he non-transcendent, though? I see the mixture of handles, athleticism & physicality, and 3-level scoring as quite rare for a young prospect.
Anyway, here's his profile. I went with the Marbury comp, hopefully Acuff will have a better reputation once he makes it in the league.

https://www.hoops-bg.net/prospects/2026/9/Darius-Acuff

Your website is very cool, BTW.

I am open to being wrong, need to watch more : )

babyjax13 wrote:

Telfaire wrote:

babyjax13 wrote:My thought is that every draft there are about 10pgs who seem reasonable in the first round and that non-transcendent guard prospects just have a chance to drop. 18 to 24 feels pretty reasonable, so does a bit higher. I am intru8ged by him, though.

Is he non-transcendent, though? I see the mixture of handles, athleticism & physicality, and 3-level scoring as quite rare for a young prospect.
Anyway, here's his profile. I went with the Marbury comp, hopefully Acuff will have a better reputation once he makes it in the league.

https://www.hoops-bg.net/prospects/2026/9/Darius-Acuff

Your website is very cool, BTW.

I am open to being wrong, need to watch more : )

Thank you very much
Feel free to inform me if anything is missing, or can be improved, content-wise or at the UI/UX level.
Hopefully there'll be more to come in the future, but for now I'm invested in scouting prospects only.

Speaking of scouting, I've got no access to the Arkansas-Houston full game, can anyone say whether Acuff and Flemings guarded each other, and how did they fare (beyond the obvious story that the stats tell)?

Telfaire wrote:

babyjax13 wrote:

Telfaire wrote:

Is he non-transcendent, though? I see the mixture of handles, athleticism & physicality, and 3-level scoring as quite rare for a young prospect.
Anyway, here's his profile. I went with the Marbury comp, hopefully Acuff will have a better reputation once he makes it in the league.

https://www.hoops-bg.net/prospects/2026/9/Darius-Acuff

Your website is very cool, BTW.

I am open to being wrong, need to watch more : )

Thank you very much
Feel free to inform me if anything is missing, or can be improved, content-wise or at the UI/UX level.
Hopefully there'll be more to come in the future, but for now I'm invested in scouting prospects only.

Speaking of scouting, I've got no access to the Arkansas-Houston full game, can anyone say whether Acuff and Flemings guarded each other, and how did they fare (beyond the obvious story that the stats tell)?

They guarded each other at times on switches. Acuff looked noticably bigger even though he is listed at only 6'3 190. They both played pretty well I've only watched the first half so far .

I need to watch everyone more but I think I initially like him the least out of Mikel Brown, Labaron Philon, and Kingston Flemings

tontoz wrote:

Telfaire wrote:

babyjax13 wrote:Your website is very cool, BTW.

I am open to being wrong, need to watch more : )

Thank you very much
Feel free to inform me if anything is missing, or can be improved, content-wise or at the UI/UX level.
Hopefully there'll be more to come in the future, but for now I'm invested in scouting prospects only.

Speaking of scouting, I've got no access to the Arkansas-Houston full game, can anyone say whether Acuff and Flemings guarded each other, and how did they fare (beyond the obvious story that the stats tell)?

They guarded each other at times on switches. Acuff looked noticably bigger even though he is listed at only 6'3 190. They both played pretty well I've only watched the first half so far .

Him and Flemings put on a show. Just rewatched it on DVR a couple days ago and both of them are very impressive. Both have the makings of above average starting NBA point guards.

Flemings burst and first step are ridiculous though, he barely needs a screen, give him the slightest bit of space and he’s in the paint, or really anywhere on the floor he wants. And his body control looked sublime. Great court vision. He’s slight of frame though. Like he looks a legit 6’2 in socks, but very skinny and small. Definitely reminds me of a taller Garland.

Acuff is a true quarterback. He’s lightening in the open court too. His first step and change of direction and pace are elite for this level, and has quite the bag. Nice floater. Good decision maker and good court vision. He’s a bit of a bull and powers through contact with nice vertical pop. Reminds me a decent amount of Marbury, or much taller Damon Stoudamire.

I think the most impressive part about both of them is their ability to effortlessly play off ball, and their shooting, in combination with the fact they’re legit point guards who can run an offense with command, but don’t need to dominate the ball to be effective and make the right plays.

Both dig in on defense too.

Very impressed.

Darius Acuff, Jr. rises into the lottery.

Now he is #13 on ESPN Analytics' aggregate draft rankings.

Within the point guard category he is #5, after Flemings, Brown, Philon, and Stirtz.

Caneman786 wrote:Darius Acuff, Jr. rises into the lottery.

Now he is #13 on ESPN Analytics' aggregate draft rankings.

Within the point guard category he is #5, after Flemings, Brown, Philon, and Stirtz.

I would take Acuff over Philon and especially Stirtz.

Caneman786 wrote:Darius Acuff, Jr. rises into the lottery.

Now he is #13 on ESPN Analytics' aggregate draft rankings.

Within the point guard category he is #5, after Flemings, Brown, Philon, and Stirtz.

I’d only have Flemings ahead of him. I might have Tanner and Okorie ahead of everyone else you listed too.

Monstrous game so far vs Alabama. Lottery lock for me

I have him at 7. He's probably the most consistent among the top pg prospects. Very few mistakes, a 3 to 1 ato ratio, and his jumper has really been money especially lately.

tontoz wrote:I have him at 7. He's probably the most consistent among the top pg prospects. Very few mistakes, a 3 to 1 ato ratio, and his jumper has really been money especially lately.

This dude is the entire team

He has the “it” factor

Holy **** that was a show. He played all 50 minutes , scored 49 with 5 assists and only one turnover.

tontoz wrote:Holy **** that was a show. He played all 50 minutes , scored 49 with 5 assists and only one turnover.

Everyone on Twitter is saying Stephon Marbury