Darius Acuff, a 5-star point guard, commits to Arkansas basketball and John Calipari

The first full recruiting cycle of a new Arkansas basketball era is off to a flying and historic start.

Darius Acuff committed to John Calipari and the Razorbacks Friday at a ceremony in his hometown of Detroit. The class of 2025 point guard, who plays high school basketball for IMG Academy in Florida, chose Arkansas over Kansas and Michigan.

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According to the 247Sports Composite, Acuff is the top-ranked point guard in the country and the No. 8 player overall. If Acuff sticks with his pledge, and makes it to Fayetteville, he would become the second highest-ranked recruit in Arkansas basketball history, behind No. 1 overall Nick Smith in 2022.

Scouts describe Acuff as a physically-gifted guard who can get to the paint and score in traffic with a variety of moves. He displays a solid command of the pick-and-roll and is already a talented passer who could become even better with talented teammates around him.

“This is the most dynamic lead guard in this class. He is just capable of putting a team on his back,” 247Sports Director of Scouting Adam Finklestein said on a YouTube broadcast of Acuff’s announcement.

At 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds, Acuff has prototypical size to play point guard in the NBA, and he has the chance to be a premier defender both in college and one day in the professional ranks. He averaged 21 points per game on Nike’s EYBL Circuit in 2024.

Acuff recently collected the MVP honor at the FIBA Men’s U18 AmeriCup, leading USA Basketball to a gold medal. He started all six games at the tournament and averaged 17.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and four assists. Acuff shined brightest on the biggest stage, dropping 26 points, nine assists and six rebounds in the final against Argentina.

Calipari did well with limited time to put together a 2024 high school recruiting class that ranked third in the country, but Acuff signals 2025 could be even better.

Calipari is firmly in the mix for small forward AJ Dybantsa, combo guard Meleek Thomas and shooting guard Jasper Johnson, who all sit inside the top-10 of the 247Composite rankings. Dybantsa is the No. 1 player in the country, and Johnson recently released his top-five schools that include Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky, Louisville and North Carolina.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas basketball recruiting: 5-star guard Darius Acuff picks Razorbacks