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Two Arkansas basketball signees and a big-time target all participated in Tuesday night's McDonald's All-American Game.
The Razorbacks were directly represented by Darius Acuff (East) and Meleek Thomas (West) inside the Brooklyn Net's Barclays Center. Nate Ament, the highest-ranked uncommitted recruit in the game, is still deciding among Arkansas, Duke, Kentucky, Louisville and Tennessee. Ament was supposed to announce Tuesday but postponed his decision.
Team West beat Team East 105-92, so Thomas will have some bragging rights over Acuff when the two reach Fayetteville. Kansas signee Darren Peterson and future Duke Blue Devil Cameron Boozer shared Most Valuable Player honors.
Here are our scouting reports on all three recruits with Arkansas ties in the All-Star Game.
It was an up-and-down night for Acuff. He started for the East team, scoring 14 points and dishing out four assists, but he was 1 for 8 on 3-pointers and had a game-high 10 misses from the field.
More: Arkansas basketball center Zvonimir Ivisic to enter transfer portal
More: Six final thoughts after John Calipari's first season with Arkansas basketball
He made a spot-up triple from the corner, but Acuff missed all of his 3-point attempts off-the dribble. The shot looks smooth and is supposed to be a strength, so it's fair to asses this as an off night.
He didn't get to the rim much on his drives, instead opting for running floaters, but Acuff always looked under control and had a good feel in the pick-and-roll. His misses were good shots, and he showed a knack for setting up teammates or making the right first pass that eventually led to an open shot.
Acuff wasn't afraid of being part of the battle on the boards and showed good strength on defense. It was a tough night shooting, but Acuff still found a way to impact the game.
Thomas is known as a prolific one-on-one scorer, but his first contribution was an off-ball cut that finished with a crafty layup to avoid an interior defender. He finished with six points and four rebounds.
There were a couple of risky passes, but Thomas displayed he's more than just an isolation attacker. He made good decisions in transition and an imposing wing span makes Thomas looks taller than his 6-foot-4 height.
Still, he gave fans a tase of his offensive prowess, coming off a screen and hitting a deep 3-pointer in the first quarter. He has a quick release and will make a defender pay if he goes under a screen.
Ament jumps off the screen. He's the fourth-ranked recruit in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite, and there are shades of Kevin Durant with Ament's 6-foot-9 frame and jump shot. He moves fluidly with the ball and can hurt opposing defenses in multiple ways, scoring 12 points and grabbing three boards Tuesday night.
He opened the game with a step-back 3-pointer and took a smaller defender into the post two possessions later, drawing a foul and getting sent to the free-throw line. He hit one of the deepest 3-pointers of the night inside the final minutes.
There was a careless turnover in transition and he didn't finish efficiently around the basket, but all of the tools are there. Adding Ament would give Arkansas the No. 1 class in the country and add a player with one of the highest ceilings of any 2026 draft prospect. Ament's biggest need at this point is a collegiate weight-room program.
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Scouting Arkansas basketball recruits in McDonald's All-American Game
Continue reading...
The Razorbacks were directly represented by Darius Acuff (East) and Meleek Thomas (West) inside the Brooklyn Net's Barclays Center. Nate Ament, the highest-ranked uncommitted recruit in the game, is still deciding among Arkansas, Duke, Kentucky, Louisville and Tennessee. Ament was supposed to announce Tuesday but postponed his decision.
Team West beat Team East 105-92, so Thomas will have some bragging rights over Acuff when the two reach Fayetteville. Kansas signee Darren Peterson and future Duke Blue Devil Cameron Boozer shared Most Valuable Player honors.
Here are our scouting reports on all three recruits with Arkansas ties in the All-Star Game.
Arkansas basketball signee Darius Acuff
It was an up-and-down night for Acuff. He started for the East team, scoring 14 points and dishing out four assists, but he was 1 for 8 on 3-pointers and had a game-high 10 misses from the field.
More: Arkansas basketball center Zvonimir Ivisic to enter transfer portal
More: Six final thoughts after John Calipari's first season with Arkansas basketball
He made a spot-up triple from the corner, but Acuff missed all of his 3-point attempts off-the dribble. The shot looks smooth and is supposed to be a strength, so it's fair to asses this as an off night.
He didn't get to the rim much on his drives, instead opting for running floaters, but Acuff always looked under control and had a good feel in the pick-and-roll. His misses were good shots, and he showed a knack for setting up teammates or making the right first pass that eventually led to an open shot.
Acuff wasn't afraid of being part of the battle on the boards and showed good strength on defense. It was a tough night shooting, but Acuff still found a way to impact the game.
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Arkansas basketball signee Meleek Thomas
Thomas is known as a prolific one-on-one scorer, but his first contribution was an off-ball cut that finished with a crafty layup to avoid an interior defender. He finished with six points and four rebounds.
There were a couple of risky passes, but Thomas displayed he's more than just an isolation attacker. He made good decisions in transition and an imposing wing span makes Thomas looks taller than his 6-foot-4 height.
Still, he gave fans a tase of his offensive prowess, coming off a screen and hitting a deep 3-pointer in the first quarter. He has a quick release and will make a defender pay if he goes under a screen.
Arkansas basketball target Nate Ament
Ament jumps off the screen. He's the fourth-ranked recruit in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite, and there are shades of Kevin Durant with Ament's 6-foot-9 frame and jump shot. He moves fluidly with the ball and can hurt opposing defenses in multiple ways, scoring 12 points and grabbing three boards Tuesday night.
He opened the game with a step-back 3-pointer and took a smaller defender into the post two possessions later, drawing a foul and getting sent to the free-throw line. He hit one of the deepest 3-pointers of the night inside the final minutes.
There was a careless turnover in transition and he didn't finish efficiently around the basket, but all of the tools are there. Adding Ament would give Arkansas the No. 1 class in the country and add a player with one of the highest ceilings of any 2026 draft prospect. Ament's biggest need at this point is a collegiate weight-room program.
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Scouting Arkansas basketball recruits in McDonald's All-American Game
Continue reading...
