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Jeff Borzello
Jeff Borzello
ESPN Staff Writer
- Basketball recruiting insider.
- Joined ESPN in 2014.
- Graduate of University of Delaware.
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Paul Biancardi
Paul Biancardi
Basketball Recruiting
- National Recruiting Director for ESPN.com
- 18 years of coaching experience at Division I level
- Former Horizon League coach of the year at Wright State
Jul 26, 2024, 05:37 PM ET
Top-10 senior Darius Acuff, one of the elite guards in high school basketball, announced his commitment to John Calipari and Arkansas on Friday — becoming the first five-star prospect off the board in the 2025 class.
Acuff chose the Razorbacks over Kansas, with Michigan also on his final list of three. The Jayhawks were perceived to be the favorite back in the spring, with Acuff taking a visit to Lawrence in late April. But Calipari made him a priority over the past several weeks and ultimately won out.
“We have a great relationship. We have been tight for a year and half,” Acuff said of Calipari. “Growing up I knew what type of guard coach he was. He built the best relationship with me. He keeps it real. It’s like he is already your coach when you speak with him. He has been there from the start. That was a separator. History speaks for itself. All the guards he has put in the league. I want to be part of that.”
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Acuff took a visit to Arkansas’ campus in May.
“I spent a lot of time on my visit with Coach Cal, Coach Chin [Coleman] and the staff,” he said. “I saw how hard he coached Rob Dillingham at Kentucky. He pushes his guys and encourages them too. So, when they get in the game, they know what to do.”
“When he first offered me last year, our first conversation stuck in my mind. [Calipari said,] ‘I knew of you, but I had never seen you play. Then I watched you and said I got to have you.'”
A 6-foot-2 native of Detroit who attends IMG Academy (Florida), Acuff is the No. 2 point guard and No. 10 overall prospect in the ESPN 100 for 2025. He averaged 23.9 points — second in the competition — and 3.6 assists for The Family on the Nike EYBL circuit this spring, and then started all six games for the USA Basketball under-18 team at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup. He averaged 17.8 points and 4.0 assists en route to a gold medal.
Acuff can score as well as anyone in the class. He gets into the paint with ease, given his speed, a tight and controlled handle, along with wiggle in his game to keep defenders off balance. He’s hard to guard as he can go in either direction off the bounce or pull up and knock down a jumper. An underrated distributor, Acuff has vision and timing on his passes. The next step for him is to balance out his game in terms of scoring and facilitating while being more of a ball mover.
“I am working on being more of a team player,” Acuff said. “I am trying to use my voice more and be more of a leader. Me and coach Sean McAloon have had many conversations this spring and summer about how I can be better. I need to be more of a point guard. Also picking up the ball sooner.”
Acuff becomes the 16th five-star point guard to commit to Calipari since he took over at Kentucky in 2009. Calipari has now landed at least one five-star point guard in every class in that span except 2012 and 2019.
That trend has carried over to Arkansas thus far, as five-star point guard Boogie Fland followed Calipari from Kentucky to Fayetteville in the 2024 class.
Calipari recruited seven No. 1 classes to Lexington during his time at Kentucky, and he has continued to take big swings since making the move to Arkansas. With Acuff in the fold, Calipari is still targeting the likes of Meleek Thomas (No. 7), Koa Peat (No. 4), Caleb Wilson (No. 5), Nate Ament (No. 8) and more. The Razorbacks also made the final five for Jasper Johnson (No. 12), who cut his list Wednesday.
In what has been a remarkably slow-developing class when it comes to commitments, Acuff is the first five-star senior to announce his college decision. Entering the week, No. 20 Sadiq White — who is going to Syracuse — was the highest-ranked prospect to have made his commitment.
