It’s not every day that a coach watches his team get dismantled and responds by anointing the opposing point guard as a generational talent. But after Darius Acuff Jr.’s masterclass against the Texas Longhorns, that’s exactly what Sean Miller was about to do.

“In my time, and I’ll just go 34 years, I’ve never seen a point guard better,” Miller said after the game. “And when people talk about who’s going to be the number one pick in the NBA draft or who’s the best player in the conference, just for perspective, and I think our conference is great, he averages 25 points a game. I’ll just start right there.”

Acuff is already amongst the top projected draft picks in every conversation. He added All-American to his resume as College Hoops Today tabbed him a First Team All-American on Wednesday morning along with Duke’s Cam Boozer, who also was named National Player of the Year by the publication, Texas Tech’s J.T. Toppin, Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg, and BYU’s A.J. Dybantsa. 

“I have never been on a court where one player at that position is any better than he is.” “Greatness” is how I would describe his game. He seems like an amazing young man.” He further said. “He’s a generational player. He’s really, really good. This number one pick thing—I don’t know why people aren’t talking about him more. I can’t imagine anybody better.”

Acuff is averaging 22.2 points and 6.4 assists, shooting 43.7% from the three-point line on a 60.9% shooting percentage. Miller also pointed out that he is on pace to become the only player to lead the SEC in points and assists since Pete Maravich in 1969-70. 

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Acuff is a very different point guard than the scoring point guards of today. His distribution is elite, as he is the orchestrator of this Arkansas offense. His usage rate of 28% is 5.7 more than the next best. That is especially impressive considering he plays more than 80% of the available minutes. He still manages to have an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.16 which falls in the 97th percentile. 

Currently, Acuff is far from being the No. 1 pick. Bleacher Report has AJ Dybantsa at No. 1, and Acuff is down below at No. 10 in their latest mock draft. For ESPN back in January, he was No. 9, while The Athletic put him at No. 7. But his stock will continue rising if he performs at the highest stage, that is, the NCAA tournament.

Acuff was informed of Miller’s praise later on. “That’s amazing to hear,” Acuff said. “I’ve known Coach Miller for, like, a long time, [with] his history and stuff. Just to hear him say that is definitely a blessing. He’s a great coach.” Even John Calipari was told how his competitor raved about his star guard and Calipari responded by doubling down on his earlier message. 

John Calipari Doubles Down On Media Criticism After Darius Acuff Wins National Honor

Darius Acuff was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Oscar Robertson National Player of the Month for February. He helped the Hogs to a 5-2 record in the month. Acuff averaged 27.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 6.1 assists in the month of February. He shot 49.2 percent from the field and 48.8 percent from 3-point range and posted a 3.58 assist-to-turnover ratio.

But it was his 49-point performance at Alabama that really caught everyone’s attention. Acuff played all 50 minutes while grabbing 5 rebounds and 5 assists with only 1 turnover. His perception changed from a top draft pick to a potential star because of that performance. At least that is what should have happened. But according to John Calipari, the media failed to spotlight Acuff’s major honor.

“Did you guys promote all the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Players of the Month? Was that out there? I didn’t look,” Calipari said. “I mean, when I was told, they said to me, ‘And you know, he beat out some really good players.’ And I’m like, “Yeah, but he’s really good, too.”

He has also earned the SEC Freshman of the Week once, National Freshman of the Week by CBS Sports once, and SEC Player of the Week once and was the National Player of the Week by AP and USBWA after his 49-point display. Top predicted picks like AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson and Caleb Wilson are grabbing headlines as well. Dybantsa is dropping 20+ games like candy. Peterson is dazzling viewers every time he steps on the court. And Boozer has led Duke to AP No. 1. 

“That’s why I said it needs to be in the conversation,” Calipari further said, “Hey, other guys are having great years, too. But you can’t just say, well… and it ended because we’re not on TV because we’re one of the four teams—Duke, North Carolina, Michigan State, and us—that everybody sees play.”

The only qualms regarding his National Player of the Year candidacy and Top draft pick contention is his defensive performance. “Even though Acuff is stocky and strong, he’s the worst defender of the players slated to go in the top 10 by a wide margin. He struggles to get through screens and shows a lack of engagement too regularly off the ball,” Sam Vecenie of The Athletic wrote. If Darius Acuff can show improvement in that regard, Acuff could very well go top 5 and rival for the National Player of the Year award.