Darius Acuff Jr.

[DirtyDez]

The best comp is Marbury but Acuff is a better shooter. Of course 30 years ago it was a different game so no comp is perfect.

[CptCrunch]

Acuff has 7 dunks this year, I think his vertical will be fine.

For comparisons
Philon has 5
Wagler has 0
Thornton has 0
Okorie has 7
Anderson has 8
Fears has 1
Lipsey has 1
Stirtz has 11
Tanner has 17
Holloway has 0
Rob Wright has 0
Fleming has 11
Peterson has 9
Sharp has 3
Burries has 17
Mikel has 10
Maleek Thomas has 3

I don't have dunk stats, but I have very accurate restricted area stats.

Acuff -
75/124 - 60.5% for 21.5% total FG

Flemings
58/109 - 53.2% for 23.9% total FG

Philon
100/159 - 62.9% for 34.3% total FG

Brown
39/58 - 67.2% for 21.2% total FG

Tanner
93/133 - 69.9% for 27.7% FG

Philon is by far the highest volume driver
Tanner is slightly lower volume but at higher efficiency.
Brown is a ranged shooter. More selective with his near rim shots.
Flemings probably has the worst touch around the rim.
Acuff has good finishing rates and good volume.

Full stats for all 2026 season on site.

[Upperclass]

Surprised Jamal Murray as a comp hasnt been mentioned but theres a alot of game similarities there. Acuff is probably a better passer and driver.

[ReggiesKnicks]

Surprised Jamal Murray as a comp hasnt been mentioned but theres a alot of game similarities there. Acuff is probably a better passer and driver.

Not terrible, but Murray was a bit bigger. 6'3" without shoes and 210 with big hands.

[Caneman786]

Big test next round. IMO Burries is a top 10 pick and is the best defender among all the top pgs. Arizona is a big, athletic team that is very tough on D.

Nitpick here (although it expands your point that Acuff Jr. Will have a hard matchup) but I'm thinking Darius will probably be matched up with Arizona's senior point guard Jaden Bradley (who won the Big 12 player of the year award, and has a shot at being a second round pick in this year's draft).

Burries may be a solid defender, but Bradley made the conference's all-defensive team. Burries will likely be better suited to guard Meleek Thomas (who is bigger than both Acuff Jr. and Bradley).

[SNPA]

The Kings GM coached Acuff’s dad. Rumors are the Kings love him. They will pick him if they drop out of top four.

[ReggiesKnicks]

The Kings GM coached Acuff’s dad. Rumors are the Kings love him. They will pick him if they drop out of top four.

I think it is reasonable for them to pick him at #3.

[SNPA]

The Kings GM coached Acuff’s dad. Rumors are the Kings love him. They will pick him if they drop out of top four.

I think it is reasonable for them to pick him at #3.

I really hope they don’t.

Wilson/AJ/Wagler for me.

[ReggiesKnicks]

The Kings GM coached Acuff’s dad. Rumors are the Kings love him. They will pick him if they drop out of top four.

I think it is reasonable for them to pick him at #3.

I really hope they don’t.

Wilson/AJ/Wagler for me.

That's fine. But you should also understand why someone who you consider to know a lot of basketball may have a different order than you, right?

Like if someone said "I have Acuff 3rd, here is why" you wouldn't be like "You are a dumbass". Ya know? There isn't any major difference between a lot of these guys.

[SNPA]

I think it is reasonable for them to pick him at #3.

I really hope they don’t.

Wilson/AJ/Wagler for me.

That's fine. But you should also understand why someone who you consider to know a lot of basketball may have a different order than you, right?

Like if someone said "I have Acuff 3rd, here is why" you wouldn't be like "You are a dumbass". Ya know? There isn't any major difference between a lot of these guys.

I’m Sac specific. Building for the next decade…I just don’t want to start with a no D small guard. It’s just a tough team building move at the foundation of the build. For another team, ok. Maybe Acuff is perfect.

[Caneman786]

Acuff Jr.'s collegiate career ended last night as the 4 seed Arkansas Razorbacks fall to the 1 seed Arizona Wildcats in the Sweet Sixteen. The final score was 88-109.

Defensively, Arkansas allowed the Wildcats to shoot 64% from the floor (true shooting percentage 71%).

Acuff Jr. ends the season having averaged 23.5 points and 6.4 assists per game, with the second-most points in D1 College Basketball (after AJ Dybantsa).

[madmaxmedia]

He measures better than expected at 6'2" barefoot and 6'7" wingspan, 186 lb. He seems reasonably strong and with that wingspan is not undersized as an NBA PG. I'm not comparing them as players but that's almost same measurements as De'Aaron Fox.

[vincecarter4pres]

I go back and watch a lot of games on DVR and always come back seriously impressed with Acuff.

What he did as a freshman makes it even more impressive.

The problem with him for his franchise will be if he hits a middle ground where he’s not a star but is either forced or convinced he has to play like one, because it will probably be hard to start him if he doesn’t hit his ceiling, good chance he’ll be an addition by subtraction guy.

[King Ken]

Good two days for Acuff. Should make all Hawks fans happy as many don't want him at 8. For me, I want him, but I don't really care.

[JMAC3]

You can tell who watch a lot of college basketball and who doesn't. Fouls change the game far more than it does in the NBA, if your best player gets in foul trouble you might have to play 10+ min stretches with them on the bench.

Acuff and Dybantsa played 35 mpg for teams that were dead on arrival when they didn't play. So them not risking fouling on defense and being able to play the whole game has a lot more value than averaging an extra steal or block a game.

Compared to guys that play for Michigan or Duke where they have multiple 7 footers or 4 stars they can come off the bench with when a starter gets in foul trouble. BYU in specific was a 2 player team after Saunders got hurt.

[Telfaire]

You can tell who watch a lot of college basketball and who doesn't. Fouls change the game far more than it does in the NBA, if your best player gets in foul trouble you might have to play 10+ min stretches with them on the bench.

Acuff and Dybantsa played 35 mpg for teams that were dead on arrival when they didn't play. So them not risking fouling on defense and being able to play the whole game has a lot more value than averaging an extra steal or block a game.

Compared to guys that play for Michigan or Duke where they have multiple 7 footers or 4 stars they can come off the bench with when a starter gets in foul trouble. BYU in specific was a 2 player team after Saunders got hurt.

That's a fair point, and I believe it's possibe that Boozer did the same when defending on the interior. My first impression as I watched him not giving much of a resistance against Toppin's post up moves was negative, but then I considered the possibility that he might have attempted to avoid getting called for a foul.

[GSWFan1994]

I like Acuff a lot, He reminds me of Damian Lillard.

Whoever past pick 5 gets him will surely get a great core piece. If the Hawks get him at 8 then... that's a steal.

I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up with a few All-Star nods during his career, surpassing guys drafted ahead of him.

[pcbothwel]

I like Acuff a lot, He reminds me of Damian Lillard.

Whoever past pick 5 gets him will surely get a great core piece. If the Hawks get him at 8 then... that's a steal.

I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up with a few All-Star nods during his career, surpassing guys drafted ahead of him.

Lol... Dame was a 9X AS and 7X All-NBA player.
Acuff is Mike Bibby mixed with Tim Hardaway Sr, which is pretty damn good, but a notch below Dame.

[FarBeyondDriven]

I echo sentiments about his defense being a product of his role and not necessarily due to him just being terrible though that remains a possibility. It often looked like he legit didn't bother so I understand the concerns and I'm not positive he can be a great defender but that could have been a coaching directive. I'm just open to the possibility that given his measurements, size, strength and athleticism, the ingredients are there if he committed.

The thing that separates him in my eyes is he's got that "it" factor. He truly believes he's elite and with scoring point guards that's half the battle. At least in college, he also backed it up. He's a Fox, Murray, Ja, Trae, Harper level prospect imo. He's probably going to be the ROY and the first of the bunch to make an all-star and all-nba too because he'll likely land on a team and immediately be their #1 and handed all the usage he can handle whereas I can't see that being the case with anyone else.

Word is Scott Perry, the Kings G.M., is a friend of the family so I can't imagine him getting past #7. I think there's a real chance he goes top 3 to Memphis. If they're successful getting rid of Ja they'll badly need a face of the franchise and even if he IS a terrible defender he will have Coward, Wells, and Edey behind him so the fit is perfect. Boozer doesn't make sense next to Edey imho and Wilson might be too duplicative and it'd still leave them without a PG though Spencer showed out in that role.

[King Ken]

Big time winner. Doesn't seem like he will make it to Sacramento. This happened with Lillard. Picked right in front of them