NBA Draft: Darius Acuff Jr.’s Youth Coach Sees Comparisons to Derrick Rose and Allen Iverson, Calls Him “Franchise Guy”
Inevitably, Darius Acuff’s former youth coach will flash a warm smile.
Just like when Acuff thrived against older kids at the American Community Council’s Youth Center. Just like when Acuff prevailed in clutch moments that reminded Phillips of Kobe Bryant and Derrick Rose. Just like when Acuff visited the facility recently and implored the young players to listen their coaches.
This time, Phillips will smile when he hears which team selects him as a presumed lottery pick in the NBA Draft.
“We’re throwing a Draft party for him at the center. Hopefully the NBA will tap in live,” Phillips told R.org. “We’ll set the gym up like a social hall and have a big screen. When they call his name, hopefully they’ll show the reaction from his neighborhood.”
Phillips spoke extensively about Acuff’s time at the ACC Youth Center, why Acuff reminds him of Rose, and how that comparison influenced him to play for Arkansas for Coach John Calipari, 18 years after coaching him at the University of Memphis. Phillips also projected Acuff as “a franchise guy” and dismissed criticism about his defense.
Editor’s note: The following one-on-one interview has been edited and condensed
Interview with Virgil Phillips, Darius Acuff Jr’s Youth Coach
– After coaching him at the ACC and staying in touch, what does Darius mean to you?
Phillips: “He’s been the best player that I’ve ever been around. I’ve been coaching basketball for 40 years. He’s the best that I’ve seen, period. I’ve had seven ‘Mr. Basketballs’ and one ‘Miss Basketball’ come through our program. Those are the best players in our state at any given year. Darius didn’t stay in Michigan to finish out his basketball career, and the award only goes to a senior.
He played two years here in Michigan, so he was ineligible. But if he had stayed and finished here, he would have been another Mr. Basketball.’ But he’s, by far, the No. 1. He’s the best player that I’ve ever been around. I’ve been around quite a few good players in my journey with basketball.”
– What made Darius No. 1?
Phillips: “It’s his confidence. It’s almost like his cockiness. He could do everything he needed to do at an early age. He just commanded the game. He’s the kind of the kid that when he takes the floor, he believes he can get done whatever he needs to get done. I say that because I’ve seen him in some tight situations, and he just told us to calm down. He came through. So he is really built like that. He’s built for this stuff.”
– What examples jump out on how he handled tight situations?
Phillips: “As a little kid, we would take him on circuit runs. We won our share of games. But we were definitely not the best team. But we had the best player. He could pull us through. But what stood out most is that when he was a sophomore in high school, he was already highly touted and could have gone to any high school in our city, but he ended up at Cass Tech, which is a magnet school for smart students.
He helped them to a state championship. He was able to help them in the important moments. In crunch time, he had this gesture that he did that was kind of Kobe-like. He would tell us to calm down. Then he would come through and beat them. They were down by nine points with less than two minutes to go, and he just took the game over and they won a state championship. That was one example where I never had seen that kind of confidence. It’s almost like a cockiness. But it is really more confidence.
Then when he left Michigan, went to Florida and finished up at IMG, they made a return home to play one of our prominent high schools here (Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep) where Trey McKenney played. Darius came and beat them. The game was in the balance, but he came through and gave us the Kobe-like gesture. He pushed his hands down to the ground. He waved his fingers to calm everyone down. He pulled it out again. I thought it was unreal. He’s one of those guys that believes in his utmost ability when you need it the most. I’ve been around basketball my whole adult life. That’s the only kind I’ve seen that has had that kind of moxie.”
– When you say Darius has been the best player you ever coached, who are the other notable players you managed?
Phillips: “I go back to Winfred Walton, who was Mr. Basketball in 1996. I coached Dion Harris (2003), Marcus Taylor (2000) and Willie Mitchell (1994). These guys were really great players. But none of them had what Darius had. Darius has the total game. He was just great. Darius didn’t have a problem with anybody. Whoever he played against, he could conquer them. They could never change the way he did it. He was always successful.”
– At what age did Darius join you at the ACC?
Phillips: “Well, his Dad played for me. That’s how long I’ve been around him. His Dad and Mom played for me as teenagers. His Dad was a great player, but he couldn’t do what Darius Jr. could do. He couldn’t complete the task like Darius Jr. could. I’ve known him his whole life. The day his Dad brought him to the ACC gym, we were going through a transition in our program from going from a church gym in the center of a neighborhood to a new and modern-built gym. This generation was an offspring of kids that played in the older gym. His Dad brought him up when he was five or six years old. He wanted to play then. It was in his blood.
The Acuff family is the best basketball family in the city of Detroit. All of the people in his family that played basketball were good. His Dad was great. He had cousins that were great. They were all older than him. His Dad was a staff member and ran some of the sessions. Darius Jr. would be tagging along with his Dad. He would watch Darius trying to lead these other kids. He really wanted to play.
So one day at practice, I told his Dad, ‘You got something in this kid.’ I know his lineage and where he comes from. But I told him, “I see something in him.’ Even at six or seven, I could tell. He was eager to get out there. He wanted to play with the 9 and 10-year-old kids. That is the age we start him at. So he became so advanced that we finally had to let him play. We found out that he was the most talented kid on the team.
He knew how to handle the ball. He had a feel for how the game was supposed to be played. I think this was coming from home. So he picked up on it early. I told his Dad in the office, “You have something, man. I see something.’ I saw that Darius was really eager. He took it from there. He never got off the floor. We had to play him with his age group because of his understanding of the game and his ability. He could get the other kids to execute a sideline dribble or a shoulder-to-shoulder screen-and-roll. Darius took it from there, and just built on it. He was the best player in the program from that point on.
His cousins were all five or six years older than him. He would play with him as a pre-teen, and he was even the best player among them. They weren’t just anybody. He cousins could play. But Darius was making plays against them. They’re 15 and 16, and Darius is 11 or 12. I wouldn’t share this with his Dad. But I would go back to my office after watching him play and think, ‘Man, Darius Jr. might be special.’”
– I saw a video where a young Darius was bragging about making so many shots in a row. What do you recall about that?
Phillips: “Darius and my son, Rashad, were in the gym. Rashad would also tell me that Darius Sr. has a special son. He could make shots with a real ball. Rashad made 23 shots in a row. But Darius Jr. was out there competing, and he was only 12 or 13 at the time. But Darius was very gifted. His IQ was so high. When you have a Mom and Dad that both played at a high level, that was in his DNA. Darius pushed Rashad to make 23 shots in a row because he was making 12 or 13 shots in a row. Rashad had to turn his game up because this kid was challenging him. I think Darius hit like 17 shots total. Rashad hit 23. They were in a 3-ball competition. Rashad was an All-American and is now working with Darius on his management team.”
– In that video about Darius, you said the ACC program was ‘bigger than basketball’ and it turned people into ‘great men.’ What do you think that program did for Darius as a player and person?
Phillips: “We gave him the foundation on how to navigate the streets of Detroit and how to stay on the straight and narrow. We put good guys in front of him and good guys around him. People that come through ACC are high-character people and are vetted. They are for the kids. You know how rare it is to a kid like Darius. But we had tons of other kids that we had to make sure we had a positive impact on. That’s really what we’re trying to do. Basketball is the vehicle we use. But we don’t really get into the high-caliber tournaments. When they get to be a certain age, those shoe teams come after them and grab them off our neighborhood team. But he represented the neighborhood for a good portion of his basketball upbringing.
He was around positive guys. He looks at me as the great mentor that I was to his Dad and the great mentor that I had been to his uncles. I was a great mentor to his grandmother, who was a mother of a large number of bots. She really needed a lot of support from me with what I was doing with the kids. It fell right in line with cultivating positivity with the activities in our community.”
– What kind of presence does Darius still have with the ACC?
Phillips: “He loves where he comes from. He’s from Seven Mile [Road] in Detroit. He’s loyal to the community center. Every time he’s home, he could probably work out at the Pistons facility. But he calls me and says that he wants to get to the ACC and get his shots up. He was in town recently. He and his Dad came in and got some work in.”
– Has Darius talked with the younger players during his visits?
Phillips: “All the time. They take pictures with him. They spend time with him. They don’t feel like they can’t approach him. One of the players asked me, “Coach, is that Darius?!’ Then he walked right over to him. They had a five-minute conversation.”
– What messages does Darius give the young guys?
Phillips: “‘Listen to these guys, man.’ He tells them to listen to us.”
– What do you think Darius’ experience at the ACC did to make him ready for this past season at Arkansas?
Phillips: “They had a high-caliber dude. He was so in tune with basketball at an early age. He wanted to play for Calipiari because he had done his homework. I had a habit of giving kids NBA-monicker names. His Dad was known as Maurice Cheeks because he was a cerebral point guard. I thought his Dad mimicked his game. When I first saw Darius Jr. play, I called him Derrick Rose. He had that toughness and take-charge mentality that I saw in Derrick Rose. They both had a variety to their game. So I called Darius that. A week later, his Dad bought Darius a ‘Derrick Rose jersey.’ Darius came to the gym with that ‘Derrick Rose jersey’ and took on his personality. This was when Derrick Rose was at the height of his career with the Chicago Bulls. He walked into the game like it was his team. He was big time with that. That carried some weight.
Darius then started doing some research on who Derrick Rose was before he got to Chicago. Then he found out that Derrick played for Calipari and was a one-and-done. So Darius wanted to become that kind of guy. That’s exactly who he became. Darius kind of already had his own history with Calipari. We didn’t have to twist his arm to go play for him. Darius wanted Cal as badly as Cal wanted him.”
– You seemed to allude to this since Darius was playing against older guys at such a young age. But Darius has also said he was used to playing as the smallest guy in the gym. How did that dynamic shape him?
Phillips: “He was beyond his years. We always taught our guys that size doesn’t necessarily make you better. Just cause you’re bigger, it doesn’t mean you’re better. You have to understand the game. He has that kind of mindset. That’s why he thinks he can win anything now. He thinks he can win against any opponent. He doesn’t view size as a hindrance. His skills are so good. He has such a great ability to play. I just believe he doesn’t view that as a disadvantage. He’ll take the floor against anybody and believes he can get whatever needs to get. That’s how I see him.”
– Given his season at Arkansas and how he’s done at the Combine, Darius has climbed up some of the mock drafts. What are your expectations for wherever he ends up his rookie season?
Phillips: “I just hope they understand that he can perform at his highest level wherever he plays at. Whoever gets him is going to be getting a franchise guy. I see him being the first true guard taken. He will be the first true guard taken in the Draft. [Darryn] Peterson is a hybrid. Darius will be the first true lead guard taken off the board. I don’t know which team that will be. But I believe that and stand with that.
Darius is a great kid. His next team is going to love his personality. He’s a great teammate. He wants all of the guys to do well. He thrives on making good basketball plays. He loves to do the good things in basketball, and he loves for his teammates to excel. I think he’s going to make an immediate impact. He’s done so everywhere he’s played. He went to IMG after two years at Cass Tech in Detroit, and they were top-notch. The guys received him well. When you play the right way, regardless of whether you’re the best guy on the team, that makes you even more important.”
– Scouts have been quoted in various mock drafts as saying that, as much as they love Darius’ offensive game, they have concerns about what he brings defensively. How do you view that?
Phillips: “He’s never had to play defense. He always has been called on to be the engine of a team. But I’ve seen him check players. I believe he will check. I believe he prove that to be that he just hasn’t been called upon. He has all of the attributes to do it.”
– So you’ve seen it as more about Darius having a large role offensively than any issues with effort?
Phillips: “Oh yes. He can give the effort. His Mom was a great defensive player. That’s what she was known for. She was hard-nosed. I actually coached against her in high school. She was with some very talented players on her team. And it was her defense that really propelled her team to greatness. I think Darius has some of that in him. We just never had to call upon it. Calipari didn’t call upon it, either. He didn’t want Darius out there defending hard. He needed Darius to make Meleek Thomas, Billy [Richmond] and everyone else better. I don’t believe it’s an issue. I really don’t. I hope the NBA [teams] see it that way, too.”
– I’ve seen Calipari say that his message to teams is, “Pass on him, you’ll regret it.”
Phillips: (laughs). “Yes, you will. I believe that, too. This is all smoke and mirrors. That isn’t really who he is. He’s a guy that can give you whatever you need. He can morph himself. He can go from being Allen Iverson to Chris Paul. I really believe his ability allows him to be any one of those guys. That’s a big gap between them. Iverson was a scorer. Chris Paul was the ultimate show runner. Darius can be either one of them or somewhere in between. I’m telling you, man. I’ve been around basketball for a long time. Darius is the No. 1 guy that I’ve been around. I think he has everything he needs to be a franchise guy. I hope NBA teams heed to Calipari’s warning. They’ll regret it if they don’t take him. It would be like Randy Moss when he went on a revenge tour on the teams that passed on him (laughs). ”
– Why do you think Darius can be like AI or CP?
Phillips: “The Iverson piece is because of his explosiveness. He can literally do anything he wants to do in a game. Whatever it calls for, he can turn it on. I’ve seen Darius go into an Iverson-mode where he’s been totally dominant offensively. He can also become cerebral and get people the ball like CP. He’s thrown the best alley-oop passes that I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to see good alley-oops in a recreational setting. But he would throw them.
I used to tell people, ‘Did you just see what he just did?’ He was only 15 years old, and he was throwing lobs to a high school kid. He is the best player from Detroit since Josh Jackson (Phoenix drafted him No. 4 in 2017). CP was known for ‘Lob City.’ Darius had that ability at an early age for throwing a perfect lob. Anytime a high school guy was in the gym with his cousins, they would want Darius to be out there with him. He was one of those young players that everyone wanted to play with.”