One-on-One with Darius Acuff Jr., Morez Johnson Jr., & Aday Mara

Darius, congratulations on getting drafted.

You're heading to the Kings.

What is your message for their fan base?

Um, just, you know , excited to be there.

Um, definitely, I love y'all, uh, already, uh, just excited to be there, uh, just ready to get it going.

You played college hoops at Arkansas and coach Cal has sent so many elite players into the league.

What is the best piece of advice that he has given you to survive the NBA?

Yeah, he always told me no matter what, uh, stay levelheaded during the game, no matter how, if things are going, uh, good or bad, um, just stay levelheaded and stay steady and because you got to be a leader of your team.

He recently said that he expects you to average 18-8 your rookie season and that teams who passed on you will regret it.

How right is he?

Super right.

Why?

We'll see.

I love that.

All right, we're in for a show.

Um, you're obviously known for carrying in offense, but how motivated are you to silence those who criticize your defensive game?

Uh, once again, we'll see in the future.

Give us one word to describe your future rookie season.

Um, just winning, I would say, just trying to win, uh, go in there and build a relationship with new guys for sure.

Congratulations on getting drafted.

You're heading to the Dallas Mavs, reuniting with your former head coach Dusty May.

Be honest, did you know this was gonna happen?

First off, thank you.

Um, did I know this happened?

Absolutely not.

Absolutely not.

I was insanely shocked about the news I received yesterday about him being a head coach, and I was not expecting to be picked by them.

Um, I honestly, I thought a die was gonna go, um, but I'm truly honored and excited to be here, caught me off guard, um.

I'm so excited Dusty's gonna be my coach in the NBA.

It's crazy.

Yeah.

Earlier you told me that he's one of the greatest people that you've ever met in your life.

What does it mean to you to get that opportunity to play together once again?

It means a lot, and I really meant that when I said that he's the same guy every day.

He showed up, he cared about everybody, he has a genuine relationship with everyone.

Um, I don't think he has no bad, no bad blood in his body.

He's a great guy overall.

All right, give me, uh, can you describe your rookie season, your future rookie season in one word?

Um.

Hard work.

That's all I got.

I don't wanna say nothing else, I'm gonna let everything handle itself.

Congratulations on getting drafted.

You're heading to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

What is your message for their fans?

Um, I would say, first of all, uh, that you're getting a guy who is, uh, who really likes to connect with the people, to know the history of the, the program.

Um, and a guy who , who's always trying to have fun and enjoy every moment, either if, if it's basketball or if it's like off the court.

So, so yeah, I'm, I'm excited to, to go there and know all the people and try to, yeah, connect, as I said.

Certainly a lot of fun ahead for you and your future.

I mean, you're heading to a championship ready team, a team that's eager to get back into the NBA Finals.

What can you guarantee that you're gonna bring to this franchise?

Uh, well, I guarantee that I, I can bring, uh, defense, I protect the rim, uh, uh.

I don't know a guy who, who, who has a great energy that wants to learn, wants to, to get better, uh, uh, and yeah, I will.

I'll be adjusting my game or whatever it is, uh, to, to try to help the team because the, the goal is to win the championship for me to win another championship again.

So, so that would, that would be one of the biggest things.

Fans are excited to see you match up against Victor Wambayama.

Some fans on social media are calling you the Wemby stopper.

I don't know if you've seen this yet.

What's your response to that?

Uh, well, I think obviously Wemby is a great player.

He's gonna be a, a huge challenge, but I'm, I'm looking forward for it.

Uh, I also think that I'm gonna be playing against Wemby a lot with the NBA national team.

Uh, so I'm excited to, to get there and, uh, and being able to.

To do it, but I mean, yeah, I guess whatever, whatever the code says, if I have to try to stop him, I will try.

You're ready for the challenge.

I'm ready, yeah, I don't know how yet, but, but I will do it, yeah.

Congratulations.

Thank you so much for the time.

Appreciate it.