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Arkansas' Darius Acuff Jr. declares for the NBA Draft

Danby: Daniel Hager04/22/26DanielHagerOn3

Arkansas point guard Darius Acuff Jr. has officially declared for the NBA Draft, he announced on Wednesday’s edition of NBA Today.

In his lone season under John Calipari at Arkansas, Acuff Jr. emerged as the best pure point guard in all of college basketball. The Detroit native averaged 23.5 points, 6.4 assists, and 3.1 rebounds for a Razorback team that made a run to the Sweet Sixteen. He was the first SEC player since the 1969-70 season (LSU‘s Pete Maravich) to lead the conference in both points and assists.

“First, I want to thank God. I want to thank my family, of course,” Acuff Jr. said. “Without them, I wouldn’t be here. I want to thank all the coaches I’ve dealt with in my life, and all the teammates. With that being said, I’m going to be declaring for the 2026 NBA Draft.”

Acuff Jr.’s signature moment in Fayetteville came during Arkansas‘ 117-115 2OT loss to No. 25 Alabama on Feb. 18, in a game that many considered to be one of the best of the year. The star guard scored 49 points 16-27 shooting from the field. Acuff Jr. also scored 30-plus points in three of Arkansas‘ six postseason games, including a 37-point performance in a SEC Tournament Quarterfinal win over Oklahoma and a 36-point performance in a NCAA Tournament Second Round win over High Point.

Kendrick Perkins claims he’d select Darius Acuff Jr. with No. 1 pick

Following Acuff Jr.’s performance against the Crimson Tide, NBA veteran Kendrick Perkins claimed that he’d select the Razorback guard with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

“He’s averaging six assists, so not only is he getting his, he’s making guys around him better,” Perkins said. “I’m really about to blow your mind with this one. I would actually take Darius Acuff Jr. with the No. 1 pick. He is Stephon Marbury times two with a Derrick Rose mentality towards his demeanor. He is a bona fide killer, and when you look at the guards and the scoring that can impact the league, he’s more NBA-ready than A.J. Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson.

“He is NBA-ready. We could look at Darryn Peterson right now. Darryn Peterson, we’re questioning right now if he loves the game. We’re questioning his mentality. If we look at A.J. Dybantsa, we’re questioning his body frame and if he’s going to be able to keep up with the physicality of the NBA. I don’t have one single concern about (Acuff) right now. He steps on that floor and I might pick him to win Rookie of the Year next year.”

Acuff Jr. could become Arkansas‘ first top-five pick in the NBA Draft since Sidney Moncrief (No. 5 in 1979), and its second top-10 pick in the NBA Draft in the past three Drafts (Anthony Black at No. 6 in 2023).