Darius Acuff Jr. Wins Bob Cousy Award

FAYETTEVILLE – Only one player in the country averaged at least 20 points and six assists and his name is Darius Acuff Jr. That, among numerous other record-setting statistics and honors, helped the Arkansas freshman win the 2026 Bob Cousy Award, which is presented to the nation’s top point guard by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

“I am honored to win this award, and I want to thank the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as well as the Cousy committee members,” Acuff said. “Bob Cousy set the standard for what a great point guard is. Not only was he one of the all-time great players, but, more importantly, he led his teams to wins and championships. Those are the same things I want my legacy to be when my playing days are over. I’d like to thank Coach Calipari, the Arkansas staff and my teammates for trusting me, pushing me and putting me in positions to succeed. Also, I could not have done this without the support and sacrifices from my parents, family and team in Detroit.”

Acuff is the first Razorback to win the Cousy Award and the second player coached by John Calipari to be honored, as Tyler Ulis was the recipient in 2016. Acuff is also the first Razorback to make the Naismith Starting 5, which is comprised of the five position awards joining Keaton Wagler (Illinois) as the Jerry West Shooting Guard Award, AJ Dybantsa (BYU) as the Julius Erving Small Forward Awrad, Cameron Boozer (Duke) as the Moses Malone Power Forward Award and Zuby Ejiofor (St. John’s) as the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center Award.

Acuff was a unanimous first team All-America this season and is a finalist for the Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award. He was the SEC Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year as well as the SEC Tournament MVP.

Acuff led Arkansas to the SEC Tournament Championship (the program’s second tourney title and first since 2000), 28 overall wins (the program’s most since 1994-95), 13 SEC wins (tying the program’s second-most since joining the league) and an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.

Darius Acuff Jr. Highlights

• Winner of the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation’s top point guard.
• A finalist for the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy.
• Unanimous first-team All-American by the Sporting News, the Associated Press, the USBWA and the NABC as well as six other organizations/publications.
• Named the SEC Player of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year. Is just the third player to sweep those awards in the same season with Kentucky’s Anthony Dais (2012) and Alabama’s Brandon Miller (2023).
• Set Arkansas single-season records for points (845) and assists (232).
  – His 845 points rank 9th on the SEC single-season list
  – His 232 assists rank 9th (tied) on the SEC single-season list
  – Is the only player on the SEC single-season top 10 lists for both points and assists

• Joined Pete Maravich as the only players in SEC history to lead the league in scoring and assists in the same season.
• Ranked 3rd in the NCAA in points per game (23.47), leading the SEC and ranking 2nd among NCAA freshmen
• Ranked 14th in the NCAA in assists per game (6.44), leading the SEC and ranking 2nd among NCAA freshmen
• Ranked 10th in the NCAA in 3-point percentage (44.0%), ranking second in the SEC and 2nd among NCAA freshmen
• Was the only player in the NCAA to average at least 20 points and 6 assists. Was 1 of 4 players to shoot at least 48% from the field and 44% from 3-point range.
• Overall, averaged 23.47 points and 6.44 assists. However, his numbers improved 24.82 points and 6.65 in SEC games and, versus Arkansas’s 12 AP top-25 opponents, Acuff averaged 24.25 points and 6.33 assists.
• Had at least 20 points and 5 assists in 21 games, the most my any NCAA DI player.
• Acuff and Oklahoma’s Trae Young (2017-18) are the only two freshmen this century in Power 5 conferences to average 23+ PPG and 6+ APG. Also, Acuff’s 4 games with at least 20 points and 6 assists in the same game are 2nd-most ever by an NCAA Freshman behind Young’s 11.
• Is the 27th player in NCAA D1 men’s history to get 700+ points, 200+ assists & 100+ rebounds in a season.
• At the SEC Tournament, averaged a record 30.3 points per game. His 91 points were the 2nd-most by any player in SEC Tournament history, but the most by a player to only play three games. (Allan Houston scored a record 98 points in 4 games.)
• At the NCAA Tournament, is the only player to have 60+ points, 10+ assists & 5 or fewer turnovers over any 2-game span in the NCAA Tournament (since assists became official in 1983-84).
• Joined Derrick Rose and Chris Paul as the only freshmen since 2004 with multiple NCAA Tourney games with at least 20 points and 5 assists.
• Scored the most points by a freshman in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament with 60 (24 vs Hawai’i and 36 vs High Point).
• His 6 points/assists double-doubles this year are the most by a Razorback.
• Had three games with at least 20 points and five assists with 1 or fewer turnovers. In fact, at Alabama, he had 49 points, five rebounds, five assists and one turnover while playing all 50 minutes of the double overtime game. The only other NCAA DI player and/or NBA player to reach those total was Kobe Bryant when he had 47 points, eight rebounds, five assists and one turnover whole playing all 48 minutes versus Portland (4/10/13).
• In 36 games played, led the Hogs in scoring 24 times and assists 31 times. Also, he scored at least 20 points 26 times – including 5 30-point games and 1 40-point game; made a 3-pointer in 35 games, including 16 games making 3-plus; ad 3-plus assists in 34 games, including 28 games with 5-plus; and five game with 5-plus rebounds.
• Set 11 Arkansas freshman season records and ranked among the programs’ all-time top 10 single-season lists for points (1st), assists (1st), field goals attempted (1st), field goals made (2nd), points per game (3rd), 3-point percentage (7th), free throws made (9th) and 3-pointers made (T-9th). In SEC games only, Acuff set school single-season records for scoring average, assists, field goals made and field goal attempts whole ranking second in total points (422 points in 17 games behind Mason Jones’s 424 points in 18 games), sixth in free throws made and seventh in free throw attempts.

ACUFF’S POSTSEASON HONORS

• Bob Cousy Award Winner
• John R. Wooden Award Finalist
• Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Finalist
• Lute Olson Award Finalist
• Kyle Macy Award Finalist
• 1st Team All-American (AP)
• 1st Team All-American (USBWA)
• 1st Team All-American (The Sporting News)
• 1st Team All-American (NABC)
• Wooden Award All-America (1, 10-player team)
• Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Starting Five
• 1st Team All-American (CollegeHoopsToday)
• 1st Team All-Rolls Royce (Dick Vitale)
• 1st Team All-American (Field of 68)
• 1st Team All-American (Bleacher Report)
• 1st Team All-Southeast District (NABC)
• 1st Team All-SEC (Coaches)
• 1st Team All-SEC (AP)
• 1st Team All-SEC (CollegeHoopsToday)
• 1st Team All-SEC (USA TODAY Sports Network)
• SEC Player of the Year (Coaches)
• SEC Player of the Year (AP)
• SEC Freshman of the Year (Coaches)
• SEC Freshman of the Year (AP)
• SEC Player of the Year (CollegeHoopsToday)
• SEC Player of the Year (HoopsHD)
• SEC Player of the Year (USA TODAY Sports Network)
• SEC Newcomer of the Year (USA TODAY Sports Network)
• SEC Rookie of the Year (HoopsHD)
• SEC Tournament MVP
• SEC All-Tournament Team

WEEKLY NATIONAL HONORS

• Naismith National Player of the Week (1/5)
• AP National Player of the Week (2/24)
• USBWA co-National Player of the Week (2/24)
• Dick Vitale’s Diaper Dandy of the Week (12/5)
• Dick Vitale’s Diaper Dandy of the Week (1/5)
• Dick Vitale’s Diaper Dandy of the Week (2/16)
• NCAA March Madness National Freshman of the Week (1/5)
• CBS Sports National Freshman of the Week (1/6)
• CBS Sports National Freshman of the Week (2/24)

SEC WEEKLY HONORS

• Freshman of the Week (12/8)
• Freshman of the Week (12/15)
• Freshman of the Week (12/22)
• Freshman of the Week (1/5)
• Freshman of the Week (1/12)
• Freshman of the Week (1/26)
• Freshman of the Week (2/16)
• Player of the Week (2/23)

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