The 2026 NBA Draft class is expected to be one of the deepest in recent history, with most outlets unanimous in predicting Darin Peterson (Kansas), AJ DiBantsa (BYU) and Carlos Boozer (Duke) as top-3 picks. However, the Arkansas Razorbacks' Darius Acuff Jr., who recently had a 28-point performance against the Texas Longhorns, is also part of a draft class widely viewed as a lottery pick.
Speaking after his match-winning performance, Texas head coach Sean Miller effectively claimed that Acuff Jr. was the best point-guard he had ever seen in college basketball.
Shawn Miller on Darius Acuff:
"In my 34 years, I've never seen a better point guard... He's a generational player. This No. 1 pick thing, I don't know why people aren't talking about him more. I can't imagine anyone better than him" 👀
(🎥: @pigtrailnation) pic.twitter.com/PdMhWXVyks
- The Field Of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) 5 March 2026
"Normally a guy like Acuff gets a lot of credit or a lot of respect as a young player in college basketball. It can happen sometimes when a guy is overhyped, he certainly has as bright a future beyond college as he does. But in my time, and I'll go 34 years now, I've never seen a better point guard. When people talk about who's going to be the number one pick in the NBA draft, or the best player in the conference Who. I mean just for perspective, and I think ours is great, he's averaging 25 points per game," Miller said, according to a post by The Field of 68.
Miller claimed that he could not imagine a better player, and he did not understand why Acuff Jr. was not talked about more.
"Guys like him, they don't come around very often in college basketball. He's a generational player. He's really, really, really good. It's the number one choice thing, I don't know why people aren't talking about him more. I can't imagine anyone better than him."
Acuff's statistical production this season already places him in elite historical territory. The Arkansas star is averaging 22.2 points and 6.4 assists per game, which ranks ninth nationally in scoring, while maintaining 49.3% shooting from the field and nearly 40-43% shooting from three-point range. He also posts a nearly 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, while averaging only two turnovers per game.
The performance against Texas also added a notable scoring streak. Acuff has scored 17 or more points in 24 consecutive games since a win over the Duke Blue Devils in November.
Despite this, Acuff is only viewed as a top-10 lottery pick, not even close to being viewed as the best player of the draft. In addition to the unanimous top-3 prediction, Caleb Wilson is also viewed as a close No. 4 pick.
