Arkansas guard Darius Acuff was pivotal in the No. 4 Razorbacks’ 94-88 win over the No. 12 High Point Panthers on Saturday night. Acuff tallied 36 points, 1 rebound, and 6 assists in the game to lead the Razorbacks to the Sweet 16, just a week after leading them to an SEC Tournament championship.
Acuff was also named the SEC Player of the Year after a stunning season so far and became the first player since Pete Maravich in 1969–70 to lead the conference in points and assists.
Darius Acuff Makes History With Reebok Shoe Deal
Acuff was one of the most highly sought-after prospects in the class of 2025, signing an NIL deal with Reebok in May 2025, even before his college basketball career had tipped off.
After a stellar season, ESPN reporter Shams Charania revealed on X that Acuff had landed a signature shoe deal with Reebok on Tuesday, becoming the first NCAA men’s athlete to do so while still in college.
In a segment of the “Swish Cultures” podcast last week, Acuff spoke about the experience of landing a signature deal with Reebok.
“The brand, growing up, Reebok was big,” Acuff said. “I seen a lot of people wearing it. People try to downplay it sometimes, but that’s Allen Iverson. Not just Iverson; Reebok as a whole is legendary. They sponsor so many things that people forget about. It was great people around Reebok, people that genuinely care about you and want to see you win.
“Ever since then, it’s been real love, real genuine. They’re still rebranding. I feel like they haven’t even shown their top yet. They’ve got a lot more stuff coming. Talking to Iverson, that was crazy. That was my first time ever seeing him in person. He gave me great advice, always play hard, play with heart, because that’s what he always did.”
Acuff has a $1.1 million NIL valuation and is ranked No. 25 among college basketball players and No. 92 in the NIL 100. Despite Arkansas being a Nike school, the talented Acuff is allowed to wear Reebok off the court.
In a stacked draft class, Acuff has elevated his draft stock with his performances for the Razorbacks this season. His 60 points scored in the NCAA Tournament so far surpassed Kentucky legend Pat Riley’s 58 points as the most tallied by an SEC player in their first two career games at the Big Dance.
He is averaging 23.3 points on 48.6% shooting from the floor and 44.6% shooting from beyond the arc, 3.1 rebounds, and 6.5 assists this season and will get a chance to further boost his draft stock when the Razorbacks clash against the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats on Thursday.
