GameDay crew says Darius Acuff Jr. could have ‘Kemba-type run’ in March
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You’d be hard-pressed to find a hotter player in all of college basketball than Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr.
The freshman phenom is coming off a 49-point explosion in a double-OT game against Alabama, where he hit 6 of his 10 triples. In the game immediately before that, Acuff hit 7 of his 10 treys to score 31 points in a win over Auburn. Before that? Games with 28 points, 24 points, 22 points, 21 points, and 31 points. Acuff has scored at least 20 in every game he has played in over the last month.
Saturday morning, on ESPN’s College GameDay, Seth Greenberg called him one of the most reliable players in the country.
“Because of the situation he’s in, the guy you can count on each and every night is Darius Acuff at Arkansas,” Greenberg said. “What he did the other night, 49 (points). He played 50 minutes, only 1 turnover, 5 assists, made big shots, got to the rim. (He is) maybe the best layup shooter in college basketball.
“Reminds me of Dame Lillard in terms of his ability to create separation, jump up and knock down 3s. When the ball’s in his hands, good things happen. … He can have a Kemba-type run in the NCAA Tournament.”
Jay Bilas chimed in and added that Acuff is the best guard Arkansas has had since Sidney Moncrief, who played for the Razorbacks in the 1970s.
The “Kemba-like run” is something that has long been hinted at but never actually duplicated. Walker led UConn to 5 wins in 5 days at the Big East Tournament in 2010-11, then helped the 3-seed Huskies to a national championship.
Across his final 11 games that season, Walker averaged 24.6 points per game while supplying 6.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.1 steals in roughly 38 minutes a contest. He topped 30 on 3 different occasions.
Acuff is a little bigger, though a little less experienced. But he has already hit 30 points 3 times since Jan. 24. He has at least 20 in 17 of his 26 games this season.
According to Kalshi, Arkansas has the 10th-best percentage odds of winning a national championship, at 8%.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
