Says only in college. He is great but he's not better than a number of guards we had since 2010. We agree he's not Cal's best right? I am curious where you all would rank him?
"Acuff best guard Cal has had" -Kendrick Perkins
- Thread starter SandyBell'sFaxMachine
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So he’s better than Derrick Rose, John Wall, De’Aaron Fox and the reigning NBA MVP SGA?
I wonder if Kendrick Perkins has ever stopped and thought about his words before they come out of his mouth.
I wonder if Kendrick Perkins has ever stopped and thought about his words before they come out of his mouth.
His freshman college season probably compares favorably to the ones you mentioned.
Maybe numbers wise but Cal had many guards better than Acuff.
Really....what do you expect from an ESPN analyst? Anything ESPN is trash!
Definitely more athletic.
I never seen Shai as a potential league MVP seven years ago.
Idk what Acuff's ceiling is as a player.
Definitely think he could be a future all star.
Perkins is terrible, probably the worst NBA guy on tv the last several years. Says dumb crap all the time, very similar to Jay Williams with CBB.
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If you've ever heard him speak, you know he's an absolute dumbass
Absolutely asinine take. Perkins is a moron, one of the worst people I’ve ever seen allowed on air. If he hadn’t been tall, he’d have been a nobody. Guys IQ couldn’t learn how to use a fork. Sounds like an inmate, just more of the WOLD WIDE LEADER in everything awful.
I’ve watched Acuff all year. No he’s not in the group of Cals best 3. Not even close. He’s really good but he’s outside that group 100%. Without question.
I’ve watched Acuff all year. No he’s not in the group of Cals best 3. Not even close. He’s really good but he’s outside that group 100%. Without question.
He probably has more freedom than all of the PGs Cal coached previously outside of maybe D Rose.
He’s putting up crazy numbers though so I don’t think it’s as bad of a statement as people are acting like if he’s talking about college only .
He’s putting up crazy numbers though so I don’t think it’s as bad of a statement as people are acting like if he’s talking about college only .
It depends on what you value in a PG. Compared to Wall he’s a better shooter and worse at everything else.
In college?
YES, I would agree Acuff is the best guard Cal has had.
I honestly can't think of a better one in all of college basketball in the 2000's.
NBA, who knows, that is 100% projection. And if projections were completely accurate then you wouldn't have so many draft busts like Fultz and surprise successes like Jokic.
It's significantly better:
Acuff: 22.3ppg, 3.0reb, 6.2ast, 2.0 TO, 1.1 STK, 50.9%-44.3%-79.5% (TBD)
Rose: 14.9ppg, 4.5reb, 4.7ast, 2.7 TO, 1.6 STK, 47.7%-33.7%-71.2% (Runner-up)
Wall: 16.6ppg, 4.3reb, 6.4ast, 4.0 TO, 2.3 STK, 46.1%-32.5%-75.4% (Elite 8)
Fox: 16.7ppg, 4.0reb, 4.6ast, 2.4 TO, 1.7 STK, 47.9%-24.6%-73.6% (Elite 8)
SGA: 14.4ppg, 4.1reb, 5.1ast, 2.6 TO, 2.1 STK, 48.5%-40.4%-81.7% (Sweet 16)
I bolded the only stats each of those 4 listed were better than Acuff at (all had more Rebounds and more STOCKS=Steals+Blocks, Wall had more assists, and SGA shot a slightly better FT%).
Meanwhile Acuff recorded at least 10% better than Rose in scoring, assists, fewer TOs and shot (rounded) 3%-11%-8% better.
Vs Wall, Acuff was at least 10% better in scoring, 50% fewer TOs, and shot (rounded) 5%-12%-4% better.
Vs Fox, Acuff was at least 10% better in scoring, assists, fewer TOs, and shot (rounded) 3%-20%-6% better.
Vs SGA, Acuff was at least 10% better in scoring, assists, fewer TOs, and shot (rounded) 2%-4% better except for FTs was 2% worse.
He did say in college.
Darius Acuff Jr. College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
Derrick Rose Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com
John Wall College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
De'Aaron Fox College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
Perkins can indeed be a hot take merchant, but in this case, I actually think it’s a pretty justifiable take, and maybe even one I agree with. It’s true that Acuff may not quite have the off the charts athletic explosiveness compared to Wall or Rose, and it’s hard to expect his NBA career to have a higher ceiling than an MVP in SGA.
Just his production as a college point guard though? He’s a much better shooter on a much higher volume than any of them and also has the best assist/turnover ratio of the group. He’s a pretty special player, and it’s ok to admit that even if he’s playing for our ex coach somewhere else.
Just his production as a college point guard though? He’s a much better shooter on a much higher volume than any of them and also has the best assist/turnover ratio of the group. He’s a pretty special player, and it’s ok to admit that even if he’s playing for our ex coach somewhere else.
Great post. The numbers show Acuff is clearly the best in stats. The other piece of the puzzle is what would have been Acuff's stat line if he was on a team with Cousins, Bledsoe, Patterson, etc... maybe Torvik stats are more useful here?
People just like scoring, 3-pt shooting guards. Wall, Rose, etc. were generational talents without even being big 3-pt shooters and the game has changed since the late 2000's. Wall and Rose are better/more talented players but Acuff is just a modern scorer.
Are we sure he wasnt saying the best he has this year? cause no, he is not the best he has ever had
We used to joke about it here too, not as much now 2 decades later but I've been on rafters for a very long time so I dug a little deeper for my username since my other one didn't transfer(glad about that, had Cal in it and I wanted to change it before he left). But it hasn't been that long since I've seen someone say something about it when we were looking at someone we weren't sure would be get paperwork done in time, I think about Jelavic actually. My son was born just in time to watch Cal's last game.... I will never forgive him for making that my son's first game
Have you listened to him? He's functionally retarded. I've never heard the English language butchered so badly.
I think it's this. Acuff is great no doubt but there's more than just the numbers. You could switch more effectively on defense, throw off ball lobs to and the effects on rebounding from other teams getting back instead crashing the board and getting burnt by a made basket fast break or live ball fast break because nobody could catch Wall or Rose.
I also was thinking does he only mean pg? Because Monk was absolutely insane but was more up and down but he took over and straight willed us to wins(and an absolute screw job that makes his performance go forgotten) in some extremely tough games. Murray was a constant assassin.
Surprised nobody is mentioning Ulis since it's only college. Give him any big men to work with and he'd be remembered differently nationally.
Surprised nobody is mentioning Ulis since it's only college. Give him any big men to work with and he'd be remembered differently nationally.
Likely fewer points (I would speculate in the 15-17 range), possibly a few more assists, and likely even (slightly) higher shooting %'s.
Define "talents"? Wall and Rose were scoring PGs. Acuff is as well, but he shoots it much better, whereas Wall and Rose relied much more on getting to the rim. Acuff does that some too, but doesn't rely on it as much.
So rather than saying Acuff is a "modern scorer", I think a better description is that Acuff is a "more balanced" scorer.
Don't forget Memphis lost a championship in part due to Rose (& others) FT shooting; and UK was upset in E8 in part due to Wall (& others) lack of 3pt shooting.
Just because he said that doesn’t make it so, however, I don’t really think you could argue with him either.
I still say Ulis Soph year was the best all-around PG that I've seen at UK in 40+ years (I was alive for Macy but didn't see him play).
Not only All-American, but SEC DPOY too. Assists, scoring, and shot it pretty well.
People acting like this is some insane take is wild to me. I said it the other day, Acuff has probably been the best Calipari PG after Wall and Rose.
He may not have the raw athleticism, but he is still getting to the rim at will and finishing through contact. And it’s not like he’s some volume chucker to get his numbers. He’s shooting 51/48/74.
He may not have the raw athleticism, but he is still getting to the rim at will and finishing through contact. And it’s not like he’s some volume chucker to get his numbers. He’s shooting 51/48/74.
The Tyler Ulis and Jamal Murray combo doesn’t get enough credit when we talk about the best backcourts in UK history …mainly because that team didn’t advance far in the
tournament.
But that sure as hell wasn’t Ulis and Murray’s fault. That was by far the nation’s best backcourt that season. But, unfortunately, they were burdened by a godawful frontcourt. That team could’ve done great things if guys like Skal and Lee had been even slightly competent.
Wall was a better defender and rebounder. Has twice the rebound % a almost a 2:1 free throw rate advantage. Assisted on a higher percentage and had a lower usage rate. Acuff is a great player and a joy to watch with the exception of 1 game. He's even a better 3pt shooter and had a slightly better free throw %. Wall still clears him by 1.7 win shares.
If you have the #1 pick and are in desperate need of a PG, I don't see how you draft someone else at this point. Dude is clearly gonna be multi-ASG good. Might even be a MVP winner some day.
If you have the #1 pick and are in desperate need of a PG, I don't see how you draft someone else at this point. Dude is clearly gonna be multi-ASG good. Might even be a MVP winner some day.
You said exactly what I just said. Rose FT shooting and Wall's 3-pt shooting. Rose and Wall were not scoring PG's in the modern sense. They played in the 2000's and were freak athlete, generational playmaking guards. Anybody in today's game can just live on the 3-pt line and put up a bunch of numbers. Acuff is not a generational talent, he is just a talented scoring guard. If you asked every Arkansas fan who would they rather have John Wall, Derrick Rose or Darius Acuff? 100% of them would choose Wall or Rose and we all know that. It's like Otega Oweh, he actually has scored more than a lot of UK greats but is he one of the best UK players of all time and a generational talent? No.
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lol at all the emotional people saying noooooo chance without providing any factual insight and/or even understanding that you compare to their college play- not after they become the best player in the NBA.
Numbers wise it’s absolutely okay to say he is. It’s also fair to question what he would be putting up with an absolutely stacked team as some of our candidates played on.
But what will definitively answer the question is how far acuff leads his team in the ncaa. And as much as I hate to say it- he’s the type player that could lead a team on a deep run. Hes also the type player that cal sorely missed his last 3 seasons here. Guards win NCAA games- especially points that can get to the rim. Add one even in the mold
Of him to our early exit cal teams and they go deep.
that really was the downfall of cals time at UK- not being able to find a superstar lead guard. Wagner, wheeler, askew weren’t those guys. At all.
Numbers wise it’s absolutely okay to say he is. It’s also fair to question what he would be putting up with an absolutely stacked team as some of our candidates played on.
But what will definitively answer the question is how far acuff leads his team in the ncaa. And as much as I hate to say it- he’s the type player that could lead a team on a deep run. Hes also the type player that cal sorely missed his last 3 seasons here. Guards win NCAA games- especially points that can get to the rim. Add one even in the mold
Of him to our early exit cal teams and they go deep.
that really was the downfall of cals time at UK- not being able to find a superstar lead guard. Wagner, wheeler, askew weren’t those guys. At all.