John Calipari gave fans a glimpse Saturday of why star athletes love to play for him.
The Arkansas head coach had a speech prepared in praise of his star players, Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas, after the Razorbacks held on for a 94-88 win over High Point in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
With High Point looking every bit the part of a Cinderella, 4-seed Arkansas hunkered down in the closing minutes to turn the 12-seed back into a pumpkin.
“I want you to look at these two closely, okay?” Calipari said while sitting next to Acuff and Thomas during their postgame press conference.
“They have otherworldly confidence. Both of ’em. They could run for President and believe, ‘I could run this country,’ cause that’s how they think … They’re being empowered.”
"They have otherworldly confidence. Both of 'em. They could run for President and believe 'I could run this country.'"
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 22, 2026
— .@RazorbackMBB head coach John Calipari on Meleek Thomas and Darius Acuff Jr. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/EjBrXcm2GQ
Acuff made a statement with his clutch play Saturday akin to delivering a knockout line at a presidential debate. With the two teams tied at 83 in the final few minutes, Acuff went on a personal 7-0 run to push Arkansas back ahead.
The freshman point guard capped off the burst with a contested three-pointer that showed why scouts see shades of Kyrie Irving and Damian Lillard in his game.
DARIUS ACUFF HAS 34 😮
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 22, 2026
RAZORBACKS CLOSING IN ‼️#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/5TKOqbuu3Z
Acuff scored nine of the Razorbacks’ final 11 points to finish with 36 on an 11/22 shooting clip. Thomas served well as his vice president of scoring with 19 points on 8/16 shooting.
As long as Acuff continues his presidential play, Arkansas fans will continue to give both him and Calipari their vote of confidence throughout March Madness.
