Five-star guard Darius Acuff Jr., is one of the most prolific scorers in the country and in possession of a long, extensive list of scholarship offers. He’s recently narrowed his focus to include just four options, however, as Kansas, Arkansas, UConn and Michigan are the only programs that remain in the race to land his pledge.
Today, Rivals national analyst Rob Cassidy ranks the contenders to land Acuff, who is yet to set a commitment date but could come off the board in the near future.
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1. ARKANSAS
Kentucky was thought to be among the leaders to land Acuff back when John Calipari was coaching the Wildcats, and the work the celebrated head coach did to forge a bond with Acuff and his family seems to have seamlessly transferred to Arkansas.
Acuff’s May visit to Fayetteville went well and seems to have put Calipari and his new program in the driver’s seat of the volume scorer’s recruitment.
There’s plenty of time for Michigan or Kansas to make a move here, as no commitment date has been announced, but Arkansas fans should feel some serious optimism. The sooner a commitment comes, the better for the Hawgs.
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2. MICHIGAN
Thought to be the favorite before Juwan Howard was removed as head coach, Michigan still feels like a player for Acuff as he continues to build a relationship with Dusty May and the new Wolverines staff.
Acuff is a Detroit native that grew up watching Michigan and aspiring to play for the program one day, but a coaching change at a pivotal moment in his recruitment helped open the door to other programs. Now it seems the in-state program has some serious work to do down the stretch to land Acuff’s commitment.
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3. KANSAS
Acuff’s April trip to Lawrence seems to have given Kansas a puncher’s chance in the five-star’s recruitment, but the Jayhawks are also far down the road with No. 3 overall prospect Darryn Peterson, for whom they are thought to lead. There’s plenty of time left for Kansas to reposition itself in Acuff’s recruitment, but it feels as though the Jayhawks may prioritize Peterson should it become a one-or-the-other situation.
That said, Acuff was clearly intrigued by his official visit so Self and company can’t be ruled out entirely just yet. If Peterson’s interest fades down the road, KU could make an even stronger push for Acuff.
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4. UCONN
UConn seems like the outsiders in the Acuff sweepstakes, which isn’t a massive deal considering the Huskies are the leader to land five-star guard Maleek Thomas. They are unlikely to get both guards, and it seems that Acuff may be the one that goes elsewhere.
That said, stranger things have happened in recruiting and it’s difficult to rule out the defending back-to-back national champs.