Darius Acuff Jr. Named Midseason Bob Cousy Award Candidate: A Star on the Rise in Fayetteville
Darius Acuff Jr. isn’t just having a strong freshman season-he’s putting together one of the most impressive rookie campaigns we’ve seen in recent SEC memory. The accolades are stacking up fast: six SEC Freshman of the Week honors, nominations for both SEC Player of the Year and National Player of the Year, and a projected top-10 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Now, he can add another major milestone to his growing résumé.
Acuff has been named one of 10 players on the Midseason Top 10 list for the 2026 Bob Cousy Award, an honor given annually by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame to the nation’s top point guard. Since 2004, the award has celebrated players who embody the skill, leadership, and poise required to run a team from the most demanding position on the floor. And make no mistake-Acuff belongs in that conversation.
This isn’t coming out of nowhere. Acuff was already on the Cousy Award preseason watch list, and through 22 games, he’s done more than just live up to the hype-he’s raised the bar.
Let’s talk numbers. Acuff leads the SEC in field goals made (160), assists per game (6.2), and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.04).
He’s also fourth in the league in scoring, averaging 20.3 points per game. That’s not just impressive for a freshman-it’s elite across the board.
What separates Acuff is his ability to operate at all three levels offensively, while still keeping the offense humming. He’s not just scoring; he’s dictating pace, finding teammates, and making smart decisions with the ball.
That kind of floor generalship is rare-especially from a first-year player.
If he were to take home the Bob Cousy Award, he’d be the first in school history to do it. There’s a bit of poetic symmetry here, too.
Arkansas assistant coach Tyler Ulis won the award back in 2015-16 while playing for John Calipari at Kentucky. Now, under Calipari’s guidance once again-this time in Fayetteville-it’s Acuff who’s carrying the torch.
That familiarity with what it takes to win this award? It’s not lost on this staff.
Of course, the competition is fierce. Acuff is up against some of the best guards in the country-Houston’s Kingston Flemings, Purdue’s Braden Smith, and Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz, to name a few. Notably, Flemings is the only other freshman on the list, which tells you just how rare Acuff’s blend of production and maturity really is.
Yes, Arkansas fans are still feeling the sting of a tough loss to Kentucky. But zoom out for a second.
When you have a player like Acuff, you’re never far from flipping the script. He’s the kind of guard who can change the momentum of a game-and a season.
Those close losses? With a player like this, they start turning into wins.
But this isn’t just about individual honors or stat lines. Acuff’s rise is about more than that-it’s about building something sustainable.
With Calipari at the helm and a roster that’s bought in, Arkansas is laying the groundwork for something bigger. Championships aren’t won in February, but they’re built on players like Darius Acuff Jr.-players who set the tone, elevate everyone around them, and redefine what’s possible.
So yes, the future is bright in Fayetteville. And at the center of it all is a freshman guard playing beyond his years, leading the charge with confidence, creativity, and control. Darius Acuff Jr. isn’t just on the radar-he’s setting the standard.