Darius Acuff Jr.

[Upperclass]

Acaden Lewis is a better prospect imo

[Upperclass]

Seems like more of a mid 90s-2000s type of player vs now imo.. going to have to be an all-time shooter to make up for his lack of burst off the dribble.. Scoot is quicker with a better handle and cant do a thing in the league..

...Stephon Marbury

Marbury had one of the quickest first steps in the league his first few years along with being a top 3-5 passer.. He reminds me more of Jarrett Jack

[King Ken]

He's a mix between Marbury and Bibby. Best floor general since CP3. I am a major fan. He's moved up to tier 2 for me.

[Telfaire]

Seems like more of a mid 90s-2000s type of player vs now imo.. going to have to be an all-time shooter to make up for his lack of burst off the dribble.. Scoot is quicker with a better handle and cant do a thing in the league..

...Stephon Marbury

Marbury had one of the quickest first steps in the league his first few years along with being a top 3-5 passer.. He reminds me more of Jarrett Jack

Jarrett Jack had tunnel vision, me and other Blazers fans on our board here were really frustrated with him, waiting for a more acceptable PG to arrive and join forces with Roy...never happened
Acuff, while he's a score-first PG, is much more poised and heady. He throws great kickouts and lob passes.
And his first step is fine, it's his explosiveness that I'm a bit worried about... I don't believe I've seen him dunk yet, not even on a clear path opportunity in a fast break.

[tontoz]

. I don't believe I've seen him dunk yet, not even on a clear path opportunity in a fast break.

Watch on YouTube

[SeattleJazzFan]

...Stephon Marbury

Marbury had one of the quickest first steps in the league his first few years along with being a top 3-5 passer.. He reminds me more of Jarrett Jack

Jarrett Jack had tunnel vision, me and other Blazers fans on our board here were really frustrated with him, waiting for a more acceptable PG to arrive and join forces with Roy...never happened
Acuff, while he's a score-first PG, is much more poised and heady. He throws great kickouts and lob passes.
And his first step is fine, it's his explosiveness that I'm a bit worried about... I don't believe I've seen him dunk yet, not even on a clear path opportunity in a fast break.

jarrett jack is a terrible comp. not even in the same stratosphere as scorer as Acuff. jack was more of a steady, defensive minded - shoot/score when the opportunity presents itself kind of pg. acuff much more dynamic as a scorer and playmaker. just completely different players.

[pcbothwel]

Marbury had one of the quickest first steps in the league his first few years along with being a top 3-5 passer.. He reminds me more of Jarrett Jack

Jarrett Jack had tunnel vision, me and other Blazers fans on our board here were really frustrated with him, waiting for a more acceptable PG to arrive and join forces with Roy...never happened
Acuff, while he's a score-first PG, is much more poised and heady. He throws great kickouts and lob passes.
And his first step is fine, it's his explosiveness that I'm a bit worried about... I don't believe I've seen him dunk yet, not even on a clear path opportunity in a fast break.

jarrett jack is a terrible comp. not even in the same stratosphere as scorer as Acuff. jack was more of a steady, defensive minded - shoot/score when the opportunity presents itself kind of pg. acuff much more dynamic as a scorer and playmaker. just completely different players.

My low-Mid-High for him is
Sexton / Marbury / Deron Williams

[CptCrunch]

It's his cornrows making look 90s

He is a rarity as he is a muscle guard with a good shot and passing. Only thing lacking is size. If he was 4 inches taller, he would be in tier 1 with the boys.

[CptCrunch]

All of these smaller Guards are going to be a hassle to sort out come draft time. Realistically, very few of them will truly pan out and those who don't aren't going to be worth much to an NBA team. It's a rough archetype. But you don't want to miss out on the one or two that do turn into lead Guards à la Lillard, Maxey, Brunson etc.

I like Acuff a lot on offense but his defense is absolutely putrid, on and off the ball. He'll really have to learn to use his frame and put in the effort or else he'll be another of those good offensive Guards that teams and fans talk themselves into for a couple years before realizing that the juice is not worth the squeeze.

Trae Young is actually a higher-level example because his offense was genuinely great even at the NBA level. And yet even he could only give Atlanta some years of good offense, bad defense and mediocre team play at – by the end – a high financial cost before being traded for very little in return. Is Trae Young worth a top 6-8 pick even in hindsight? Absolutely. Is the chance to draft someone like Trae Young worth that? Eh.

Extremely good post. 10/10.

[SeattleJazzFan]

All of these smaller Guards are going to be a hassle to sort out come draft time. Realistically, very few of them will truly pan out and those who don't aren't going to be worth much to an NBA team. It's a rough archetype. But you don't want to miss out on the one or two that do turn into lead Guards à la Lillard, Maxey, Brunson etc.

I like Acuff a lot on offense but his defense is absolutely putrid, on and off the ball. He'll really have to learn to use his frame and put in the effort or else he'll be another of those good offensive Guards that teams and fans talk themselves into for a couple years before realizing that the juice is not worth the squeeze.

Trae Young is actually a higher-level example because his offense was genuinely great even at the NBA level. And yet even he could only give Atlanta some years of good offense, bad defense and mediocre team play at – by the end – a high financial cost before being traded for very little in return. Is Trae Young worth a top 6-8 pick even in hindsight? Absolutely. Is the chance to draft someone like Trae Young worth that? Eh.

Extremely good post. 10/10.

First paragraph was great, but it quickly went downhill from there.

it was okay until he compared Acuff to Trae Young. first he overstated how bad he is defensively. Acuff is not good, but he isn't terrible or "putrid". that's just wrong. Trae Young doesn't even try and he's about 170 lbs with short little arms.

Acuff has a lot of work to do on the defensive end, but due to his frame, strength, superior size and length, he has about 10x the defensive potential of Young. Trae is just a really bad comparison - even if he did care defensively (never did), he never had a chance to be even a passable defender in the NBA due to his build/height/length.

Acuff is built like Chauncey Billups and has similar athletic attributes - that's his upside as a small guard defender.

[The-Power]

All of these smaller Guards are going to be a hassle to sort out come draft time. Realistically, very few of them will truly pan out and those who don't aren't going to be worth much to an NBA team. It's a rough archetype. But you don't want to miss out on the one or two that do turn into lead Guards à la Lillard, Maxey, Brunson etc.

I like Acuff a lot on offense but his defense is absolutely putrid, on and off the ball. He'll really have to learn to use his frame and put in the effort or else he'll be another of those good offensive Guards that teams and fans talk themselves into for a couple years before realizing that the juice is not worth the squeeze.

Trae Young is actually a higher-level example because his offense was genuinely great even at the NBA level. And yet even he could only give Atlanta some years of good offense, bad defense and mediocre team play at – by the end – a high financial cost before being traded for very little in return. Is Trae Young worth a top 6-8 pick even in hindsight? Absolutely. Is the chance to draft someone like Trae Young worth that? Eh.

Extremely good post. 10/10.

First paragraph was great, but it quickly went downhill from there.

it was okay until he compared Acuff to Trae Young. first he overstated how bad he is defensively. Acuff is not good, but he isn't terrible or "putrid". that's just wrong. Trae Young doesn't even try and he's about 170 lbs with short little arms.

Acuff has a lot of work to do on the defensive end, but due to his frame, strength, superior size and length, he has about 10x the defensive potential of Young. Trae is just a really bad comparison - even if he did care defensively (never did), he never had a chance to be even a passable defender in the NBA due to his build/height/length.

Acuff is built like Chauncey Billups and has similar athletic attributes - that's his upside as a small guard defender.

Seems like it might be a matter of reading comprehension. I never wrote or implied that he is literally Trae Young. That's not what comparisons are about. I merely mentioned Trae as an example of a genuinely great offensive player who bleeds a lot of value because of his defensive limitations and was ultimately traded in his prime for very little in return.

Acuff, during this season, has indeed been putrid defensively from what I have seen. No need to sugarcoat that, though I do know that people that follow draft prospects tend to naturally do that with the players they like. Nobody is ever really bad, just ‘below average’. Everyone will improve on their weaknesses for sure. I get that. I've done it myself a lot, though I'm trying to be more mindful of it these days.

In terms of defensive potential, I even mentioned in my post that he has a frame he can work with. But that's theory. As it stands right now, he's a bad defender and if he continues to play defense like he currently does in the NBA, there's a good chance his team will eventually be fed up with it and decide to move on – even if his offense translates well. Can he improve defensively? Sure, within reason. But it'd be foolish to not take his current defensive performances into account. Fans can do that (for a while) but professionals cannot afford to do that simply because they want to believe.

[Felixians4]

He's a mix between Marbury and Bibby. Best floor general since CP3. I am a major fan. He's moved up to tier 2 for me.

Haliburton no dilemma.

Darius Acuff as Darius Garland 2.0? 6-9 pick

[King Ken]

He's a mix between Marbury and Bibby. Best floor general since CP3. I am a major fan. He's moved up to tier 2 for me.

Haliburton no dilemma.

Darius Acuff as Darius Garland 2.0? 6-9 pick

He's a lot better than rookie Garland right now mainly due to his quality as a floor general and his size. Upside wise, he should be a tier or two better as well even if he doesn’t feel like a future MVP candidate due to his athleticism but I wouldn't count him out. He's going to impact winning as a rookie. Hard to find floor generals in any era. Especially NBA ready ones who can score. We had some come into the NBA but they couldn't score. CP3, Nash, Hali, and Mike Bibby would be proud.

What makes him so special is he's the best floor general as a freshman since CP3.

[BlazersBroncos]

His command of the offense is special and his shooting splits are nuts. Even if you project him with a ceiling as a below average defender he is a Top-8 pick at worse. You can get away with one starter being bad on defense (Bad, not absymal - I dont see abysmal with Acuff) - and IMO if you had to pick a slot where you have a below average defender on the court the easiest one to get away with is PG.

I think he is a clear step above Flemings, Brown JR and Philon for PG prospects in this class. I do agree, its tough to sort all these 6'2-6'4 guards out.

[JMAC3]

Hard to say exactly where his defense will end up, but he is definitely smaller which already is a massive uphill battle on defense in the NBA.

He does have the worst Reb and Steal % out of Fleming, Wagler, Philon and Brown.

That kind of shows some of the physical limitations he is seeing at the college level.

[tontoz]

Maybe he is conserving his energy a bit on defense since he leads the conference in minutes and is the team's offensive engine.

[JMAC3]

Bit more intel on guard finishing.

Ebuki 96 makes, 53% at the rim. 178 FTA.
Tyler Tanner 94 makes, 63% at the rim, 144 FTA.
Acuff 91 makes, 63% at the rim. 135 FTA
Philon 87 makes, 67% at the rim. 156 FTA
Fleming 78 makes, 60% at the rim. 101 FTA
Burries 70 makes, 65% at rim. 113 FTA
Wagler 60 makes, 60% at the rim. 176 FTA.
Anderson 47 makes, 74% at the rim, 106 FTA.
Mikel 46 makes at rim, 65% at rim. 112 FTA
Peterson 27 makes, 61% at the rim. 78 FTA

[King Ken]

Acuff got some haters on X. Serious haters. I think he's a no brainer for the NBA and yes, I question his defense but offensively, floor generals are so hard to find. He's not as good on the ball as Marbury as a scorer but he's only a tier worse. It's still really close but it's the floor general part of his game. That's as special as Trae Young running the PnR.

[vincecarter4pres]

His size still scares me, but he’s so good and his game should translate.

I honestly try to stay away from the more outlier small guards, but you have guys like CP3, Kyrie, Brunson, Deron Williams before his ankles exploded, D Mitchell, Maxey, Trae for awhile, Dame, Curry, Tony Parker, Mike Conley, Bibby, etc., the list goes on, who all excelled without jump out of the gym athleticism.

And listen, I get it, looking at that list there isn’t a ton of championship success besides a few of them, between all of them. It’s still hard to build a contender around a player like that, and often hard to incorporate them into a multi-star lineup when they need to be so heliocentric to impact things to their peak.


But idk if you can pass on him even as high as third overall, the only truly clear cut guys I can put over him are AJ and Wilson.

I think it’s a fair argument with any of Peterson, Boozer, Flemings, Burries, Philon or maybe Wagler.

[Felixians4]

He's a mix between Marbury and Bibby. Best floor general since CP3. I am a major fan. He's moved up to tier 2 for me.

Haliburton no dilemma.

Darius Acuff as Darius Garland 2.0? 6-9 pick

He's a lot better than rookie Garland right now mainly due to his quality as a floor general and his size. Upside wise, he should be a tier or two better as well even if he doesn’t feel like a future MVP candidate due to his athleticism but I wouldn't count him out. He's going to impact winning as a rookie. Hard to find floor generals in any era. Especially NBA ready ones who can score. We had some come into the NBA but they couldn't score. CP3, Nash, Hali, and Mike Bibby would be proud.

What makes him so special is he's the best floor general as a freshman since CP3.

so that will be 2.0 version of garland as i said? darius should be one of best offensive players in league, looking like that in moment, MM determines a lot