{"id":696451,"date":"2026-04-03T19:51:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T19:51:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/696451\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T19:51:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T19:51:34","slug":"john-calipari-sends-strong-message-to-nba-teams-not-to-pass-on-darius-acuff-jr-you-will-regret-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/696451\/","title":{"rendered":"John Calipari sends strong message to NBA teams not to pass on Darius Acuff Jr: \u2018You will regret it\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

John Calipari<\/a> isn\u2019t just endorsing Darius Acuff Jr.<\/a> at the professional level. He\u2019s warning the NBA<\/a> not to pass on the Arkansas<\/a> superstar.<\/p>\n

Following the Razorbacks\u2019 Sweet 16 exit, Calipari made it clear that any franchise thinking about passing on his star freshman guard could be making a massive mistake. Speaking on First Take, the longtime coach delivered one of his most emphatic draft evaluations in recent memory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think, if you pass on him, as an NBA franchise, you will look back and say, \u2018What were we thinking?\u2019\u201d Calipari said. \u201cYou will regret it.\u201d<\/p>\n

That confidence comes from more than just Acuff\u2019s production. It\u2019s about toughness and what Calipari believes evaluators aren\u2019t fully seeing: \u201cThe thing they don\u2019t know is he was hurt the last 12 to 15 games,\u201d Calipari said. \u201cHis toe was really \u2014 he could have said, \u2018I\u2019m done,\u2019 and there was no way he was going to shut it down.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Calipari, Acuff didn\u2019t just play through injury, he thrived despite it. In one of the defining moments of Arkansas\u2019 season, Acuff logged 50 minutes in a double-overtime battle against Alabama<\/a>, refusing to come off the floor even as the Razorbacks dealt with foul trouble and a depleted rotation: \u201cThis kid fought to win that game,\u201d Calipari added. \u201cPlayed all 50 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calipari believes that mindset separates Acuff from others in this draft class. Even when his coach tried to protect him, Acuff pushed back: \u201cI said, \u2018I\u2019m not playing you the next game. Your toe, you\u2019re out,\u2019\u201d Calipari recalled. \u201cAnd he\u2019s like, \u2018We just lost. I\u2019m playing,\u2019 and he got up and left.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moreover, beyond his toughness, Calipari highlighted Acuff\u2019s on-court versatility, something that should only enhance his appeal at the next level: \u201cHe can play on the ball, can play off the ball,\u201d Calipari said. \u201cThey talk about X-Y-Z, but this guy is real.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, the numbers back it up. In 36 games, Acuff averaged 23.5 points, 6.4 assists and shot an efficient 48.4% from the field and 44% from three-point range, production that has him firmly in the lottery conversation. Some projections place him as high as No. 6 overall.<\/p>\n

But for Calipari, this isn\u2019t about mock drafts or projections, but it\u2019s about conviction. Acuff, in his eyes, has already proven everything that matters. And if teams overthink it? Calipari believes they\u2019ll be reminded of that decision for years to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"John Calipari isn\u2019t just endorsing Darius Acuff Jr. at the professional level. He\u2019s warning the NBA not to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":696452,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7,73892,14154,6,12],"class_list":{"0":"post-696451","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-draft","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-darius-acuff-25-img-academy","10":"tag-john-calipari-78-moon-area","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-nba-draft"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116342520774649733","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=696451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/696452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=696451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=696451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=696451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}