re: Arkansas Basketball 2026 (and beyond) Recruiting Thread **G JJ Andrews Commits**

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All spring and summer, Malachi Moreno has been one of the top players on one of the top travel basketball teams on the 17-U circuit. Moreno and his Indiana Elite team are one win away from capturing the adidas 3SSB Palmetto Road Championship as they will face the Utah Prospects in the title game on Sunday.

The 7-foot, 230-pound Moreno is ranked as the nation's No. 25 prospect overall and No. 3 center, according to 247Sports.com. He has a wide array of college coaches watching his games here all week. His final top eight includes, in alphabetical order, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Ohio State.

Indiana Elite, which also includes a pair of highly rated Indiana prospects in Braylon Mullins and Trent Sisley, posted a perfect 13-0 record during the three legs of the adidas 3SSB season. In 13 games, Moreno averaged 13.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.2 blocks per game. He hit 65 percent of his shots from the floor.

The team dropped its two "showcase games" to start the Palmetto Road event, but has reeled off four straight wins in bracket play to get to the championship. In those six games, Moreno has averaged 11.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots. He has hit 62 percent of his shots from the floor and 65 percent of his free throws. He had 20 points and nine rebounds in a tournament win over Team Lilliard and just had 21 points and 16 rebounds in today's semifinal win over Compton Magic.

Moreno is the top prospect in Kentucky for 2025. As a junior, he led Great Crossing to a sparkling 36-2 record and a berth in the Sweet 16 state semifinals. His team was ranked just outside the national top 25. He was a MaxPreps honorable mention All-American as he averaged 16.0 points, 13.3 rebounds, 3.7 blocks and 2.2 assists per game.

Moreno told reporters he has a busy schedule of official visits ahead of him. He is planning to see Ohio State Sept. 7, North Carolina Sept. 14, Indiana Sept. 20, Arkansas Oct. 5 and Kentucky Oct. 12. He made an unofficial visit to Ohio State in June on a day when former players were on hand to work out with the current team.

Below, we have an interview with Moreno from this week in Rock Hill.

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Q: What sticks out to you about Arkansas?

Moreno: "Even though Cal (John Calipari) got a new job, he has been at all of my games and made sure he's had one of his assistants there to watch me play. That means a lot to me.

"He wants me to play for him and he wants to turn me into an NBA player. He talked about the success he has had with big men. He wants to provide the best possible outcome for me."

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SG Braylon Mullins

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Mullins said he “couldn’t get anything to drop” in his first game of the day, where he managed 12 points, six rebounds and six assists in a win, but had everything going in rhythm in the nightcap, scoring 22 points to lead Indiana Elite to its second win of the day. Mullins’ ability to move without the ball is elite and his efficiency on all three levels makes him one of the most dangerous scorers in the league.

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PF Koa Peat

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Fresh off his gold medal winning performance with Team USA’s U17s, Peat didn’t miss a beat, dominating in all facets in the nightcap, posting 29 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Magic past Phenom 81-60. Peat was strong in the paint, finishing through contact and the combination of his footwork left the opposition with no answer.

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SF Nate Ament

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Ament was a workhorse in the loss to the Utah Prospects, posting 15 points and 16 rebounds. His ability to produce from the wing and on the low block at 6-foot-8 was a devastating combination all game. Ament’s length, footwork and touch made him impossible to stop.

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PF Malachi Moreno

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Moreno’s mobility as a 7-footer enabled him to gain optimal positioning all afternoon and turn in a dominant 21-point, 16-rebound performance in the win over the Compton Magic and elite big man Koa Peat. Moreno’s motor remained in overdrive, impacting the game on both ends of the floor on and off the stat sheet.

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PF Koa Peat

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Peat kept up his dominance, thriving in his role as point-forward posting 20 points, four rebounds, four assists and two blocks in the loss. At 6-foot-8, 235 pounds, Peat’s ability to bring the ball up the floor then break down his man off the dribble and finish efficiently at the rim had coaches on the sidelines buzzing about his similarity to Paolo Banchero.

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?MATCHUP NIGHTMARE: Koa Peat

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Peat checks in at 6-foot-8 and weighs roughly 230 pounds, so it’s mind-boggling to see how flawlessly he pulls off his role as a point-forward. Peat brought the ball up the floor most of the time for the Compton Magic, a genius call by the coaching staff because of his ability as a playmaker. The five-star standout broke down every defender in front of him all week and made plays for himself and his teammates, carrying the Magic all the way to the Final Four.

He doubles as a relentless rebounder and rim protector, which frustrated the opposition all week.

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TOP SNIPER: Braylon Mullins

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Mullins has a scary accurate stroke, and his release is so quick he needs minimal space to commence the launch. Still, what makes it all work is his ability to move without the ball, curling off screens and losing defenders through pin-downs and baseline runs. Despite an intense face guard for most of the week, Mullins managed to average 22 points a game and get Indiana Elite to the title game.

Mullins’ dominance earned him a new offer from Duke on Sunday.

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TOP BIG MAN: Malachi Moreno

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The 7-footer more than proved his mettle all week, averaging 13 points, 10 rebounds and 2.1 blocks a game in South Carolina. It’s telling that he saved his best game for the stiffest competition, a 21-point, 16-rebound performance to lift Indiana Elite past Peat and the Compton Magic.

Moreno’s ability to play clean up on the glass, gobble up space in the paint and create productive stats from it and protect the rim changed the whole complexion of games all week.

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Darius Acuff Jr. was coy about his college recruitment on Sunday to say the very least, The five-star guard stuck one-word answers and seemed a bit put off by being asked about his commitment timetable.

During a short interview, the Detroit-born star refused to rule out the possibility of taking additional visits and said very little about his options.

“I’m just weighing my options,” Acuff said on Sunday. “I haven’t made my decision on anything … even on visits.”

Others in the know around the gym, however, had more to say about the situation. The chatter in Augusta is that Acuff could be officially off the board in the next month or so, and that Arkansas remains firmly in the driver's seat heading into the final stretch. Kansas technically remains alive in Acuff’s recruitment, but everything seems to be pointing to Fayetteville at this juncture. Acuff has not officially announced a timetable for a decision, but it’s starting to feel as though his recruitment will meet its end well before the calendar flips to September.

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Darius Acuff, a five-star recruit and the No. 1 ranked point guard in the 2025 class, has committed to Arkansas and head coach John Calipari.

The 6-foot-1 rising senior out of IMG Academy (FL) chose the Razorbacks over a final group of Kansas and Michigan.

According to the On3 Industry Rankings, Acuff is the No. 8 overall prospect in the 2025 cycle. He’s also the No. 1 point guard prospect. The On3 Industry Ranking is a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

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Acuff on Arkansas
In a previous interview with On3, Acuff discussed the Razorbacks and John Calipari.

“Coach Calipari treats you like family. He welcomed me in on my visit like he knew me already. It was a great visit overall….They like my aggressiveness. He says he likes how I am able to get downhill, my pace, and my attitude for the game. They see that I just love the game so much and I just want to win.

“Just how (Calipari) coaches his guards. All his guards go to the league. You see it every year. Also, his resume speaks for itself. He’s one of the winningest coaches ever. He’s a great coach, a guard coach, if not the best.”

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Scouting Report
“Darius Acuff steps on the court with a swagger. He has long arms and a purposeful handle. Acuff is a capable scorer from multiple levels, showing deep range off the bounce or the catch. He is comfortable pulling up in the mid-range and he has a crafty bag around the rim. Acuff is more quick than fast. He has a good first step, getting to his spots, but he needs to continue to work on his burst around the basket. Acuff is a solid passer, making reads and distributing passes on target. He needs to continue getting strong passing off movement. He can also get shot happy. While he has put up big scoring totals, he does so mainly with a lot of shot attempts at this point. His over-dribbling can kill the flow of an offense. Efficiency is a big thing with Acuff, his totals can be inefficient. He has quick hand when guarding the ball in the open floor. He seems to have a competitive fire and no fear. His cousin is Eastern Michigan’s Tyson Acuff.” – On3’s Jamie Shaw

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Arkansas landed one of the top scorers in all of high school basketball on Friday, when five-star guard Darius Acuff Jr. made the call for the Razorbacks. Acuff chose John Calipari’s program over finalists Kansas and childhood dream school Michigan and provides Arkansas fans with yet another reason to be optimistic about the direction of the program in the post-Eric Musselman era.

Below, Rivals national analyst Rob Cassidy explores what Arkansas is getting Acuff as well as what landing him means for the bigger picture.

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WHAT ARKANSAS IS GETTING
One of the most lethal scorers in the 2025 class, Acuff can take over a game due to the fact that he’s a legitimate threat to score from almost anywhere on the floor. He makes incredibly difficult shots look easy at times and puts enormous pressure on opponents with his ability to take defenders off the bounce.

The drawback to this, however, is that the five-star guard sometimes struggles from an efficiency standpoint and is prone to letting a poor start spiral into poor games as well as less-than-ideal body language.

When things are going well, however, there’s nobody in this class you’d rather have with the ball in his hands. Acuff shines as a shot-creator and has a pull-up game that makes him lethal from the mid-range and the 3-point arc. He absorbs contact incredibly well and is as reliable a finisher through traffic as there is in high school basketball due to his strong upper body and impressive body control. He’s become a better ball-handler last year and sees the floor well from a passing standpoint. He’s at his best when he lets the game come to him and avoids difficult shots.

Defensively, Acuff possesses the athleticism and lateral quickness to frustrate defenders even if his 6-foot-1 frame doesn’t lend itself to elite versatility on that end of the floor.

The Detroit-born standout averaged 23.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in the EYBL this summer and showed some encouraging signs from an efficiency perspective during July’s Peach Jam play-in tournament, as he shot 47 percent from the floor in a small, five-game sample size.

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WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE RAZORBACKS
For Arkansas fans, Friday’s news feels somehow bigger than the obvious on-court benefits of landing a high-level scorer such as Acuff. Not that there was any massive doubt about the level at which John Calipari would be able to recruit in Fayetteville, but beating out Kansas and in-state Michigan for a five-star drives home the point that the Razorbacks have both the budget and the clout to wade in the deepest parts of the recruiting pool in program’s new era.

Obviously, what happens on the floor will determine how the Calipari is judged, but winning a battle like this certainly provides some semblance of offseason peace of mind.

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The Arkansas basketball program has received its first commitment in the class of 2025, as five-star point guard Darius Acuff Jr. announced his pledge to the Razorbacks on Friday.

A 6-foot-2, 170-pound Michigan native, Acuff is ranked as the No. 9 overall prospect in his class and is viewed as a potential one-and-done prospect once he makes it to campus. He chose the Hoop Hogs over Kansas and Michigan, and also held offers from Alabama, UConn, Houston, Kentucky, Ohio State, St John's and more.

As a member of the FIBA U18 Team representing the United States, Acuff started all six games and collected MVP and All-Star Five honors after averaging a team-high 17.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 4.0 APG in 24.2 MPG.

Acuff's best outing came in the final against Argentina, when he recorded 26 points, six rebounds and nine assists.

The five-star also played in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) Peach Jam Invitational to conclude the circuit season. He averaged 20.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from three and 80.8 percent from the free throw line.

Following Acuff's commitment, Arkansas has signed at least one five-star prospect in three of its last four high school classes. Nick Smith Jr., Anthony Black and Jordan Walsh were all part of the 2022 class, while head coach John Calipari flipped 2024 five-star Boogie Fland away from Kentucky.

Prior to Arkansas' unbelievable recruiting stretch, the Hogs only managed to lock down three five-star recruits (Olu Famutimi, BJ Young and Bobby Portis) since Rivals started tracking recruiting in 2002. That doesn't include Al Jefferson, who committed to Arkansas but went straight to the NBA out of high school.

Arkansas is still in play for a number of the best recruits in the 2025 class, many of which are ranked in the top 15 nationally.

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