John Calipari and Arkansas basketball gained their first commitment from the 2025 recruiting class when Darius Acuff Jr., the No. 1 point guard and No. 4 overall prospect in the cycle, officially committed to the Razorbacks on Friday. He chose Arkansas over Kansas and Michigan during a special ceremony in Highland Hills, MI, which was streamed on the 247Sports YouTube channel.
247Sports has Acuff rated as a five-star recruit, the No. 1 point guard and No. 4 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting class. He’s also a composite five-star and holds a 0.9967 rating in the industry-generated Composite Rankings. He’s the third-highest rated Arkansas commitment in the modern recruiting rankings era, just behind Nick Smith Jr. (2022) and Al Jefferson (2004).
The 6-3, 180-pound, Detroit native product has long been pursued by Calipari, and he was the first 2025 prospect to take an official visit to Fayetteville back in May. Back on June 28, he cut his list of potential schools down to a final four, which consisted of the Razorbacks, Kansas, Michigan and UConn. Prior to Friday’s decision, Acuff ended up eliminating the back-to-back national champions from contention.
Acuff spent the last few months tearing it up on the Nike EYBL grassroots circuit. Most recently at the Nike EYBL Peach Jam event in North Augusta (S.C.), he averaged 20 points, three rebounds and three assists while shooting 48% from the field and 43% from deep. At the event, Acuff spoke to 247Sports’ Recruiting Analyst Brandon Jenkins about his recruitment.
“My official visit went well. I have a good relationship with John Calipari,” Acuff told Jenkins. “I took a visit to Kentucky and I took a visit to Arkansas. Nothing was different but the schools. It was a great visit. Coach Cal is a great guard coach. Most of his guards are in the league.”
Earlier in the summer, he was also named MVP of the FIBA U18 AmeriCup in June, leading USA to a gold medal by going for 26 points, nine assists, six rebounds, and three steals in the championship game against Argentina.
Here’s what 247Sports Director of Scouting Adam Finkelstein says about Acuff in his latest scouting report:
“Acuff is the most dominant and dynamic lead guard in the class, who plays with outward confidence. He controls the offensive end of the floor with the ball in his hands and has a variety of versatile tools at his disposal. Firstly, he’s cut-up and powerful with long arms (a +4.5 inch wingspan). So, when he drops his body to attack, he can absorb contact without getting pushed off his line, whether that be in the open floor or half-court.
As Acuff has sculpted his frame, he’s simultaneously become more explosive and improved his first-step, but it’s often his second-move, or counter, that is especially lethal. He’s got a lot of different options when he goes through his legs mid-drive and has even become adept at adding a burst of speed, and accelerating, in the midst of his attack.
Acuff is most effective when he’s making those around him better and asserting himself as efficiently as possible. He has good vision and is a talented passer, but like many young scoring lead guards, he can sometimes dominate the ball and settle for unnecessarily tough shots. Defensively, his physicality and competitiveness should be long-term assets, while he gradually seems to be getting a little looser in his hips.”
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