Arkansas basketball's Darius Acuff Jr. draws SGA, Derrick Rose comparison that will catch NBA teams' attention appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
It's getting to that point of the season where many people are tuned into college basketball because of March Madness , but some have been watching since the beginning, as they keep track of potential draft prospects. This is supposed to be one of the deeper drafts in years past, and a potential top pick is being displayed almost every night.
One player who has gained steam over the past few weeks is Arkansas basketball guard Darius Acuff Jr., who is projected to be a top pick in the draft.
Head coach John Calipari has had the chance to coach some talented guards throughout his career, but no one has been at the level of Acuff in his freshman year, according to Gary Parrish of CBS Sports.
"John Calipari has coached some amazing guards, guys like Derrick Rose and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , two people who have been the NBA's MVP, and Darius Acuff Jr. is having a better freshman season than either one of those players," Parrish said. "He's now averaging 22.2 points and 6.4 assists per game. Derrick Rose didn't have those numbers, neither did SGA."
Rose averaged 14.9 points in his freshman season with Memphis, while Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 14.4 points. Looking at those stats, it's hard to deny that Acuff is having a better freshman season than both of them.
Though that may be impressive, what will be more interesting to see is if Acuff's game will translate to the NBA like those two players. In their primes, they were the best guards in the league, and if Acuff can do that, he'll truly be the real deal.
There are so many talented guards in the NBA nowadays, and some of them don't pan out to be as special as they were in college. Other times, it takes them years to grow into a prominent figure in the league. Just look at Alexander-Walker, who wasn't seen as one of the top guards in the first few years of his career, but in the past three seasons has become a consistent MVP candidate.
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