SAN JOSE, CA — Darius Acuff Jr. stood at the top of the arc inside the Moda Center and took a deep breath.
The second-round game against High Point was in the balance, Arkansas up by two points with two minutes to go. The Razorbacks needed a bucket to stave off the upset, and the ball was in the hands of the right man.
Acuff looked at the clock and looked back down at the court. Like a lion grazing through the prairies, a rattlesnake rattling its tail, a hawk circling the sky, he let everyone know it’s time for the deadly strike.
“We know who he is, that killer mentality that he's got,” said forward Billy Richmond III. “We just knew he was going to score that play.”
Sure enough, Acuff drove down the lane for a picturesque finger-roll layup, making it a two-possession game. On the Razorbacks' next possession, he hit the dagger 3 to finish off the kill.
Of all the talented freshmen in the country, none of them may be more clutch than the SEC Player of the Year. He has elevated his game on the biggest stage, becoming a deadly assassin, turning anyone standing in his way into his next victim.
“He's like all the best players that I've coached,” said Arkansas coach John Calipari. “He's like that.”
Acuff has been lighting it up for Arkansas all season, but what has been most impressive is he did it largely not at 100%. An ankle injury had been nagging him for the majority of the final month of the regular season. Calipari employed strategic load management to get him back healthy.
It’s worked wonders, leading to an incredible stretch of performances.
There’s a lot of ways to measure Acuff's success. He led the SEC in scoring (24.8) and assists (6.6) per game. His numbers actually went up in conference play. What he's done when the games have mattered most is the most impressive.
Since the calendar flipped to 2026, he has been a second-half monster. He averages 14.5 points in the second half, shooting 53.9% from the field with an even wilder 50.8% mark from deep.
His performances in the clutch are even more impressive. Since the start of the SEC Tournament, his shooting percentage is 61.1% in the final five minutes, a mark that would even wow in the NBA. The latest showing was against the Panthers in the second round, when he scored 12 of his team’s final 16 points to advance to the Sweet 16.
That capped off a first weekend unlike any other, as his 60 points in the first two rounds were the most ever scored by a freshman.
It’s why, when he has the ball, his teammates know the opponent might as well call it a night, and why Hall of Famer Allen Iverson labeled Acuff “the next HIM.” Acuff signed a signature shoe deal with Reebok, and will become the first NBA rookie with a Reebok signature shoe since Iverson in 1996.
“We've been seeing it all season,” said Trevon Brazile. “We know he's going to go get a bucket. We don't think nobody can guard him.”
What makes Darius Acuff Jr. so good?
Calipari believes Acuff could run for president. Basketball is likely the career path, given he’ll likely be a lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, but his “otherworldly confidence” makes his coach believe he could run for office.
“You only gain that by being a gym rat. You only gain that by demonstrated performance, which is go in the game and perform, and then you live in the gym,” Calipari said. “Everything you do is about basketball. The other stuff doesn't matter. All the other outside stuff does not move you.”
Acuff agreed with his coach’s sentiment.
“You got to be a gym rat,” he said. “You’re not going to be who you say you can be if you're not in the gym. I'm always at a gym, especially knowing what I want to achieve.”
That’s why he gets a different type of treatment from the coach. Calipari admitted he is always the hardest on his best players, and Acuff fits the bill. By expecting greatness from his star, he has seen Acuff's maturity, leadership and body language grow, culminating in the dazzling performances.
Arkansas may need more late-game heroics in the Sweet 16, facing an Arizona team that is a national title favorite, having coasted through the first two rounds and won 11 straight. Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd knows all about Acuff, having coached him for USA Basketball at the 2024 FIBA Men's U18 AmeriCup, where Acuff was named most valuable player.
“Darius is a supreme talent, and he's a great young man,” Lloyd said.
If the game is close down the stretch, all eyes will be on what Acuff does next. If the ball is in his hands, the Wildcats better be prepared, because this is a player raised to be in the moment, ready to do what it takes to get a win.
Even if it means dealing another fatal blow.
“I'm always doing it,” Acuff said. “I gotta do enough for my team to win.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Darius Acuff Jr. has a 'killer mentality' in clutch for Arkansas
