Darius Acuff, the No. 9 player and No. 1 point guard in the 2025 class, is one of Kentucky’s biggest recruiting targets in the class. While he has yet to drop a top list, Kentucky is believed to be in a really good position.
With his recruitment about to ramp up this spring, Acuff spoke with On3 to update his recruitment and discuss the two official visits he took last fall, one of which was to Kentucky for Big Blue Madness.
“It was lit down there,” he told On3. “I went down for Big Blue Madness. They’re a great school and have put a lot of players in the league. I’ve been doing my research on all the schools and I’ve seen all the guards they’ve had. They play my style of play and let their guards make plays. Their facilities were big and they definitely showed a lot of love when I was there. It was a great school.”
During another interview with 247Sports, Acuff provided some insight into what the staff talked about during his visit.
“On the visit they told me to watch DJ Wagner and see how he talks and his leadership as the point guard of the team,” Acuff said. “They’d want to play my game if I were to go there, get to the next level and be a leader. Most of our conversations was about being a leader 24/7 because the team will go how you go.”
Kentucky recruiting Acuff as a leader suggests that the staff envisions him to be a key piece for the 2025 class, leading the team as the point guard.
Acuff’s lone other visit was to his home state school of Michigan, but he is looking to take more over the coming weeks and months, to Kansas (March 5th), Texas, Houston, Georgia Tech, and others.
What is Acuff looking for in a school? “I’m going to be looking for a program and a coach that is going to let me do me and let me rock out,” he says. “I want to play with a coach who is going to teach me right from wrong and be there to support me. I’ve thought some about the pro stuff, I want to go to college though. Yeah, college for sure.”
John Calipari will let a player “rock out” if they prove themself to be good enough, just look at Rob Dillingham this season. That said, a proven three-level scorer, Acuff put up the fourth-highest point average in Nike’s EYBL last season.
For Kentucky, this is a positive update and certainly a recruitment to watch.
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