By Nick Pantages
@nick_pantages22
Touted as the top point guard in the class of 2025, Darius Acuff Jr.’s basketball journey has been filled with success at every level.
Hailing from Detroit, the Acuff family has a deep history of basketball in the Michigan high school hoops circuit. His father, Darius Sr., and three of his uncles were all standout players in the area. His cousin, Tyson, also lit up Michigan basketball at Cass Tech, before he committed to Eastern Michigan. After averaging over 21 points per game at Eastern, he entered the transfer portal and committed to Rutgers last August.
Acuff followed in Tyson’s footsteps by starting his high school career at Cass Tech. He dominated for the Technicians, scoring over 20 points per game in each of his two seasons, culminating in a state championship in his sophomore year (2023), while also becoming the first sophomore to be named Mr. PSL, given to the most outstanding player in the Detroit Public School League.
Following that standout season, Acuff made the decision to go down south and suit up for IMG Academy for his final two seasons to try to consistently test himself against the best competition.
“That’s why you come here,” Acuff said. “You get to play against the best competition, trying to get ready for the next level and the college game. So you have to really pay attention to scouting and practice to go over everything.”
So far, it’s been smooth sailing for Acuff at IMG.
He averaged 20.4 points and 5.5 assists in his first season for the Ascenders, and is currently in contention for National High School Player of the Year. He credits a lot of his initial success to the culture that existed at IMG, and how it helped him harness his basketball abilities.
“I definitely feel good here,” Acuff said. “IMG has been so good since I came here, everybody and the team. Everything is different, with it being a big campus and being away from your people.”
Prior to the season this year, Acuff committed to the University of Arkansas, where he is now their third highest rated recruit in school history. A large part of the decision to commit to the Razorbacks program is head coach John Calipari, who is in his first season at Arkansas after spending over a decade at the University of Kentucky.
“Our relationship was a big part [of the decision],” Acuff said. “I had the best relationship out of all the coaches with him.”
Another factor of the decision was Calipari’s accruement of successful guards in the NBA. Derrick Rose was the major one while Calipari was at Memphis, but after moving to Kentucky, he helped produce all-stars such as Devin Booker, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, De’Aaron Fox and John Wall.
However, it was former 5-foot-9 point guard Tyler Ulis, a consensus All-American in 2016, that stuck out to Acuff.
“Of course all the big ones like Derrick Rose, but mainly for me, I watched Tyler Ulis,” Acuff said.
And despite his current links to the South, attending high school and Florida and committing into the SEC, Acuff still knows his basketball roots lie in Detroit.
“People understand why I left,” Acuff said. “So I always feel that love and support. Many people probably watched that game back home.”
Photo by Kaitlyn Kupiec/The Student