By ADAM ZAGORIA
Five-star Class of 2025 point guard Darius Acuff Jr. visited Kentucky this past weekend for “Big Blue Madness” and came away impressed with the family atmosphere on campus.
“It was good, I went for three days, it was a family environment,” the 6-foot-3 Acuff out of IMG Academy (FL), the No. 1-ranked point guard in the Class of 2025, said Wednesday night by phone.
“They just talked to me about going to the next level, being a pro.”
Top-ranked 2025 point guard Darius Acuff on his official visit to Kentucky for Big Blue Madness.
pic.twitter.com/TyDovGIPme
— TheCatsPause247 (@TheCatsPause247) October 18, 2023
Kentucky coach John Calipari has coached a slew of NBA guards, from Derrick Rose at Memphis to Tyrese Maxey and Immanuel Quickley at Kentucky.
“We watched film on a lot of guards, Derrick Rose probably be the main one,” Acuff, a Detroit native, said of the former NBA MVP now with the Memphis Grizzlies. “[Calipari] talks to me all the time about how we think alike as far as our mentality, how we’re just killing and we talk a lot.
“I watched all the guards he had, we watched film, it was great seeing all the guards he had in the league.”
Acuff says he likes to watch film on old-school players like Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury, along with current players like Kyrie Irving, Ja Morant and Trae Young.
“I’ve seen every [Iverson] highlight, him and Stephon Marbury, I’ve seen every highlight,” he said.
As far as schools he’s considering Acuff listed Kentucky, Michigan, Houston, Kansas, Alabama, Georgia Tech “and a lot more other schools.” He also received an offer from St. John’s in June but said he hasn’t spoken to the staff since then.
His next visit will be Feb. 9 to Rutgers, a source confirmed. Rutgers is in the mix for five-star Class of 2024 guard Dylan Harper and already has a pledge from five-star forward Ace Bailey.
“I think I got one at Rutgers in February,” Acuff said.
What’s their message?
“It’s a family, I got a connection with Coach Marlon [Williamson], coach Smoke, so that’s my guy. Just a family environment.
“Like I said about Coach Cal, every coach talks to me about getting me to the next level, and I think that’s the biggest thing for me.”
Five-star PG Darius Acuff can GO.
The 6’1″ guard is leading all scorers at @top100camp with 26.5 ppg. pic.twitter.com/S4jwDcK1Ku
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) June 29, 2023
Williamson is a former assistant coach at Central Michigan with extensive ties in Detroit and the state of Michigan.
Acuff also visited home-state Michigan last month.
“Yeah, that was my first official,” he said. “It felt good to be back home. It was home. It was definitely a environment, all the coaches. And coach Juwan [Howard], he real. I love that a lot.”
Asked if he would consider an alternative path like G League Ignite or Overtime Elite, Acuff said, “I think I want to go to college for sure, take that route. Just live the college life, take that route. As of right now.”
Acuff still has plenty of time to make a decision.
“I’ll probably make a decision next year around this time,” he said.
In the meantime, his goals are to contend for championships at the prestigious City of Palms Classic in December and then GEICO Nationals in April.
“I want all of that but just working towards it right now,” he said. “Just trying to get together with my team. I think we’re great. We got great size, we got great guards, we got great everything. I think every position, everyone is talented.
“We just need to learn how to play together fully because we’re still a month or two in.”
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