Darius Acuff Jr. is Making the Top of the 2026 NBA Draft Order That Much Harder

Arkansas' top NBA Draft prospect is making a legitimate top-five push in the 2026 NBA Draft. Acuff is simply difficult to ignore.

Mar 13, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Darius Acuff Jr. (5) saves the ball against the Oklahoma Sooners during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Imagesduring the first half | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

The top three picks of the 2026 NBA Draft were cemented at the start of the college basketball season, and it has remained true all season long. But it's hard to ignore the talent that has been repeatedly knocking on the door.

Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa and Cam Boozer are all generational prospects, but what the rest of the projected lottery has done over the last four months has been nothing short of incredible. If some of these freshmen were to stay another year and enter the 2027 NBA Draft, the race to be No. 1 would be a spectacle of its own.

Potential No. 4 overall picks this year include Kingston Flemings (Houston), Caleb Wilson (North Carolina) and Keaton Wagler (Illinois). However, it's tough to ignore what Darius Acuff Jr. has done for Arkansas as of late, because he is moving into that tier with the top three as we speak.

Acuff most recently put up 37 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals to lift Arkansas over Oklahoma in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. The 6-foot-3 point guard was everywhere for the Razorbacks in their 82-79 victory, scoring at will. He played all 40 minutes, but they needed every second of him.

Darius Acuff in his SEC tournament debut 🥶

37 PT | 11-21 FG | 5-9 3PT | 5 AST | 3 STL | 40 MINS pic.twitter.com/HbJgqfoahM

— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) March 14, 2026

In his SEC Tournament debut, Acuff shot 52.4% from the field and 55.6% from three. He got almost everything he wanted, both off the dribble and the catch. The three-level scorer was attacking the basket and pulling up from beyond the arc.

Something scouts have raved about is the freshman's clutch gene, and he showed that by knocking down a contested midrange jumper with less than 30 seconds to go to put Arkansas up four points. He notched 12 of the Razorbacks' final 21 points across eight minutes.

Head coach John Calipari had high praise for Acuff after the win. He noted how hard he's been on the star point guard, but it's a testament to his ability to be coached and take over as a leader on and off the floor.

"He has a winner's mentality, he's even keeled like Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] was, and some of the other guys that I've coached," Calipari said. "He never is this way. I'm being hard on him and he accepts it...

"I can do that, but he has to make the plays. And what he's done and how he's done it... He's unselfish, but he can make shots."