FAYETTEVILLE — Darius Acuff Jr. is a King.
It’s a fitting sentence to scribble after covering his one-and-only year with Arkansas basketball.
The point guard from Detroit wore the crown for the Razorbacks in a season that cemented his own legacy and assured Arkansas fans that John Calipari had not lost his fastball.
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The Sacramento Kings selected Acuff with the No. 7 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday, June 23. He now heads to a star-starved franchise desperate to find consistency. Sacramento has reached the playoffs just one time since 2006.
Acuff will be handed the keys to the offense, and with enough success, maybe even the city. ESPN reported earlier this week Sacramento was his preferred destination.
Acuff is the latest in a long line of point guards under Calipari to become lottery picks, but his ascension to this point didn’t feel like a guarantee when he first arrived in Fayetteville last summer.
Acuff was the No. 11 player in the 2025 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. That is a lofty ranking, but it doesn’t match previous Calipari recruits like John Wall, Anthony Davis and countless others.
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Would he even be the starting point guard? Could he run a college offense? Can he make enough 3-pointers to force opposing defenders to respect him?
Will his size be an issue?
Yes. Yes. Yes, and a big resounding no.
Acuff ended up being the best point guard in the country.
He averaged 23.5 points and 6.4 assists while shooting 48.4% overall and 44% from 3. He became just the third player to earn SEC Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year honors in the same season, joining Anthony Davis (2012) and Brandon Miller (2023). He also joined Pete Maravich as the only players in SEC history to lead the league in scoring and assists in the same season.
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Few players in the country shouldered the type of offensive burden Calipari entrusted in Acuff. He was the primary scorer and distributer for Arkansas, and he played heavy minutes while nursing a nagging ankle injury throughout the second half of the SEC season.
Mar 21, 2026; Portland, OR, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Darius Acuff Jr. (5) drives against High Point Panthers guard Rob Martin (3) in the second half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images
Wins against Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament Final and High Point in the NCAA’s second round showed he had a clutch gene that few players could match.
Calipari joined the Razorbacks in 2024 after 15 years of turning five-star recruits into first-round draft picks at Kentucky. In his first year with Arkansas, the Hall of Fame coach reeled in three recruits with various five-star ratings in Boogie Fland, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond III.
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None of them became first-round picks. It ended a 17-year streak for Calipari.
Fland transferred to Florida. Knox left the program the following year. Richmond is about to return for his junior season.
It ended up nothing more than a one-year gap. Calipari simply had to find his footing in a new home. He walked into a superstar with Acuff, who will start a new streak for the Hall of Fame coach.
Acuff developed under Calipari’s stewardship, and Arkansas envisions a similar journey unfolding for Jordan Smith Jr. during the upcoming season. The No. 3 ranked recruit in America, Smith is the biggest fish Calipari has reeled in since joining the Hogs. Smith will be one of four five-stars in the Arkansas class, joining Miikka Muurinen (Finland), JJ Andrews (Little Rock) and Abdou Toure (West Haven, Conn.)
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Another lead guard with an NBA future will call Bud Walton Arena home next year. It will be tough work for Smith to fill Acuff’s shoes in the short-term. He walked in with a chip on his shoulder and finished as a national media darling. When the rookie class lined up for a photo before the 2026 NBA Draft, Acuff was the man in the middle.
He was the heart and soul of Arkansas basketball last season. Acuff’s greatness should help ensure future success for as long as Calipari is roaming the sidelines in Fayetteville.
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@usatodayco.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Darius Acuff Jr. heads to Sacramento leaving legacy with Arkansas basketball
