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Put Hogs' Acuff on National Player of Year List Before Calipari Shows Up, Makes You

Campaign to get Arkansas Razorback on NCAA ballot in full swing
Kent Smith|
Arkansas Razorbacks guard Darius Acuff Jr. prior to the game against Texas A&M at Bud Walton Arena.
Arkansas Razorbacks guard Darius Acuff Jr. prior to the game against Texas A&M at Bud Walton Arena. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

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Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It's pretty clear John Calipari is fed up with having to make a talking point already and it's basically just been a couple of days.

Tuesday afternoon while on with Jim Rome, the Arkansas head coach snuck in a calculated comment that he knew, if it didn't take hold, would at least set the table for what he would have to say later that night after the Hogs' basketball game with Texas A&M.

Why is it that everyone can pop off all of the pre-programed names for National Player of the Year without thought regardless of how well those players perform, how good of a teammate they happen to be, how much heart is on display or even if they bothered to check into the game at all, yet, no matter what miracles Calipari's star freshman Darius Acuff pulls off, no one wants to utter his name?

If Acuff isn't top of mind when talking about the best in the game, Calipari wants that resolved and he wants to see that it's fixed immediately. Following a game against Texas A&M Wednesday night in which Acuff got off to a frigid start before lighting on fire in the second half to help his Razorbacks slam the door shut on what was once the most dominant team in the SEC, the Arkansas coach took special time to voice his frustration.

"I'm a little disappointed, and I'm not trying to put more on the kid," Calipari said after the 99-84 win. "Why isn't he in the equation, in the in the Player of the Year in the country? 'What are you saying? Why would you say he's averaging as many as all those people?' He's got six assists, he got three rebounds. He's doing things in the guts of games. Yeah, maybe they are, but he is too. So why isn't he being mentioned?"

Those who haven't had much to say about Acuff appeared to be waiting for their moment to say "Well, see! There's why!" after the freshman jumped firmly into the national spotlight following a double-overtime loss at Alabama where he put up 49 points, five rebounds and five assists with only a single turnover with the ball primarily in his hands for 50 minutes.

It looked like Wednesday night would be that moment. After all, he has a streak of 20-point games that extends as easily as a teenager in college running up a DoorDash streak on their parents' credit card.

As Texas A&M's defense iced out Acuff, taking advantage of the law of averages that say he couldn't keep having big performances for ever, the Razorbacks' guard posted only five points in the first half. Yes, he impacted the game as best he could, filling the box score with four rebounds, five assists and two steals in addition to his points.

Still, it looked like the culmination of several long nights played on a hobbled leg, constantly demanding to play when other star players were begging out for breathing heavily after exerting too hard shooting a three, had finally caught up. Perhaps it was time for Calipari to force one of his team's leaders to step aside and let others take the lead as they had already shown they could in the first half while he struggled.

"Somebody just told me Darius was 1-for-12 in the first half," Calipari said before slipping into a highly sarcastic facial expression. "Probably should have subbed them out and sat him, but I gave him a break."

Acuff took halftime and a little bit of the early second half to refocus and recover, then he transformed back into the player he was against Alabama. His coach watched from the sideline as the opportunity to tear him down when it comes to National Player of the Year melted onto the floor of Bud Walton Arena to be soaked up by a Libman mop.

"I just want confident guys that you're confident when you shoot it, you're shooting it confidently, and he does, but nothing phases him," Calipari said. ". . . He's playing when he could probably take some time off games, and he's playing anyway. I mean, he goes through the shoot around [after being in a boot all week] and only does half of it so he has enough to play the game.

"Should he play down in Florida? Probably not, but I'll tell you right now, if I said you're not playing down there, he will bust out laughing. 'You're out of your mind!' So I'm a little disappointed in [Acuff not being regularly mentioned in consideration for National Player of the Year]."

One thing Calipari is excited about is how well his team is performing when Acuff needs a break. He has full faith his guard will contribute his part, but he's not Wolverine.

He's not auto-healing after rolling his ankle yet another time, so he needs a moment on the bench to rest it as best he can while his teammates hold it down. Fortunately for Arkansas, several players are rising to the challenge.

Billy Richmond dropped 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the first half against the Aggies on top of all the other things he does to ignite the Hogs in the other areas of the box score and outside it. Meanwhile, Malique Ewin scored eight points in 14 minutes, going a perfect 2-of-2 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free throw line in addition to four offensive rebounds.

Brazile balanced Ewin and Richmond with his seven points and six rebounds. There was support all over the floor, which took tons of pressure off Acuff to work through his injury.

"The last game, I set Darius out the last five minutes of the half, and we went on a 19-6 run with Darius sitting [and veteran DJ Wagner carrying the load]," Calipari said. "But, here's what I will tell you. At the end of the game [against Texas A&M], the last six minutes, who did the most damage? Darius and [fellow freshman guard] Meleek [Thomas].

"So I want you to think about this. Here's a freshman that goes 1-for-12, and then at the end of the game, has enough chutzpah to say, 'I'm winning this. I'm gonna win this.' And, Meleek Thomas, absolutely the same. There's no one going to convince either one of those guys that they're not what you're seeing. They know it. They're not afraid of it. 'If I miss some shots, I'm making some shots, I'm not going to miss and then miss seven, eight, nine. Believe me, when it's time to make shots, I will make them."

So, get out the ballots and pencil in the name Darius Acuff, Jr.
If you don't, Calipari is going to ride this train in front of every media outlet in the country until people finally acknowledge his protégé.

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Kent Smith
KENT SMITH

Kent Smith has been in the world of media and film for nearly 30 years. From Nolan Richardson's final seasons, former Razorback quarterback Clint Stoerner trying to throw to anyone and anything in the blazing heat of Cowboys training camp in Wichita Falls, the first high school and college games after 9/11, to Troy Aikman's retirement and Alex Rodriguez's signing of his quarter billion dollar contract, Smith has been there to report on some of the region's biggest moments. 

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