Lou Will asked Arkansas coach John Calipari about the concern around Darius Acuff’s defense.
Coach Cal: “He was such a good scorer, I didn’t give a shit about his defense.”
(via: @RunItBackFDTV)
Getty
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 25: Darius Acuff Jr. #5 of the Arkansas Razorbacks dribbles the ball during the Sweet Sixteen Practice Day at SAP Center on March 25, 2026 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Darius Acuff Jr. leaves Arkansas basketball in a more prominent place. He rose as the newest NBA Draft prospect from head coach John Calipari. All after carrying a once proud program into the Sweet 16 after some down years.
Acuff’s high volume scoring on offense eventually led to him landing seventh overall to the Sacramento Kings. He rises as the next potential lead scorer for the Kings, plus earns a chance to turn around this floundering franchise.
Acuff needed to fight off concerns, however, pre-draft about one flaw: His defensive game. The Razorbacks’ star looked limited on that side of the ball nightly and even became exposed there against Arizona in the round of 16.
Calipari himself addressed that concerned, though, in NSFW fashion.
“Coach Cal” bluntly told this to Run it Back on FanDuel TV how he really felt about Acuff’s flaw.
“He was such a good scorer, I didn’t give a s— about his defense,” Calipari said which drew laughs. “Here’s what I will tell you: I already had this talk. If you are a target on defense, you can’t stay in the game. They will weave, pick-and-roll, and down screen until you switch on the ball and you’re driving.”
Lou Will asked Arkansas coach John Calipari about the concern around Darius Acuff’s defense.
Coach Cal: “He was such a good scorer, I didn’t give a shit about his defense.”
(via: @RunItBackFDTV)
But Calipari used a recent NBA star as a prime example of what teams should look more for out of Acuff.
Calipari, again, never grew concerned about Acuff becoming a liability on defense. He brought up New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson as a big reason why.
“What New York did with Jalen, he would step up on a ball screen so high and then run back to his own man. Because he was not going to switch on the guy with the ball.”
Calipari added how Brunson benefitted from the help behind him in this scenario: Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson and the front court in general. “Cal” conveyed a similar message with Acuff.
“I told him: You don’t want to be the target. You’re good and quick enough to defend. And you can get by people on the bounce like you do, then you can get by people on the bounce,” Calipari said.
Calipari dropped one final message to critics of Acuff’s defensive game.
“I don’t think defense will be a problem,” Calipari boldly said.
Acuff brings potential to the state capitol of California. The kind where Sacramento brings in a new, potential face of the franchise.
Sacramento relied on aging stars Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan for most of the season. Both battled more than age, but injuries too and missed some games. The Kings became left with hot-and-cold production from their role players.
Acuff brings a new set of quickness that head coach Doug Christie has aimed for. Christie landed the job in the attempt to recreate Sacramento’s glory years of the early 2000s through its run-and-gun approach. So now Acuff enters the picture there.
Lorenzo Reyna covers the Los Angeles Rams for Heavy.com. His NFL, college and high school football coverage has been featured on Pro Football Network, Santa Maria Times, Daily Pilot, 24/7 Sports and Scout Media. He is based in southern California. More about Lorenzo Reyna
此内容由惯性聚合(RSS阅读器)自动聚合整理，仅供阅读参考。 原文来自 — 版权归原作者所有。