Darius Acuff Jr., a prominent first-year player for Arkansas, has secured a personalized footwear deal with Reebok, establishing him as the pioneering male collegiate athlete in the NCAA to attain a signature shoe line from a major American brand while still participating in college sports, according to Jide Osifeso, Reebok’s head of basketball, who informed ESPN.
Acuff, at 19 years old, is positioned at number eight on ESPN’s draft projection list compiled by analyst Jeremy Woo for the upcoming 2026 NBA draft class.
Recognized as the SEC Player of the Year, Acuff achieved the distinction of being the first participant to lead the conference in both scoring and assists per contest since Pete Maravich did so during the 1969-70 season. Furthermore, the Arkansas team triumphed in the SEC tournament earlier this month.
Acuff has accumulated 60 points throughout this tournament, propelling Arkansas into the Sweet 16, and in doing so, he surpassed Pat Riley of Kentucky, who had 58 points, for the highest scoring total by an SEC player in their initial two NCAA tournament appearances within a single season. He is also only the second athlete over the last five decades to maintain an average of 30 points and five assists per contest across their first two NCAA tournament games, a distinction he shares with Billy Donovan.
Moreover, Acuff became just the second freshman since eligibility rules were established in 1973 to commence his NCAA tournament career with successive outings of at least 20 points and five assists, following Chris Paul’s achievement in 2004.
From Reebok’s perspective, Acuff is the inaugural male basketball player to be granted a signature footwear model since the company’s previous collaboration with John Wall.
In August 2024, Cooper Flagg entered into an endorsement agreement with New Balance while he was a 17-year-old rising high school senior in Maine, preceding his sole season at Duke University. The subsequent summer saw him chosen as the top overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks. The kind of deal Flagg received is customary for highly-regarded prospects across various athletic disciplines.
