Michigan State basketball: Has Tom Izzo found his future point guard?

Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo is taking a closer look at elite 2025 point guard Darius Acuff from Detroit Cass Tech.

ATLANTA – It’s 8:00 on a Saturday morning. Where is Tom Izzo? The Michigan State basketball coach sitting courtside at an AAU game.

The Elite Youth Basketball League, or EYBL, is an AAU circuit run and funded by Nike. It’s the top high school basketball league on the planet and churns out high major talent and future professional basketball players year after year.

This weekend, the EYBL is in Atlanta, Ga. That also means many college basketball coaches, including Tom Izzo, are in Atlanta. 

With so many excellent prospects and teams on the circuit, it’s difficult for coaches to decide which players to give time to, and they need to take advantage of the limited weekends the NCAA gives them to scout in person. These are called “live periods” and the NCAA only allows a few weekends in the spring to be live periods.

Earlier on Saturday, Izzo spent time watching the Detroit-based team The Family which is led by a player who shouldn’t even be on the team.

Darius Acuff is a 2025 guard from Cass Tech high school in Detroit. He is playing up an age group and performing at a very high level. Juwan Howard and Co. recently gave Acuff an offer to Michigan, and it looks like they won’t be the last.

Izzo watched Acuff and The Family face off against Team Melo (Carmelo Anthony’s AAU team). Acuff had 17 points and shot 53 percent from the field. He also hauled in five rebounds and displayed his tenacious defense picking up two steals. 

So far in three EYBL games this spring, he is averaging 16 points per game while shooting 60 percent from the field and 45 percent from three. He’s also been consistent at the charity stripe shooting 75 percent from the free-throw line.

Acuff’s performance is getting him noticed.

Analyst Andrew Slater listed Acuff as one of his Friday EYBL standouts. 247Sports’ Travis Branham also noted Acuff’s impressive play:

Michigan State (Tom Izzo) is at the 8:00 AM matchup of The Family and Team Melo.

2025 Darius Acuff playing up and impressing in my first viewing.

— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) April 22, 2023

Tom Izzo has coached some elite point guards in his time: Mateen Cleaves, Kalin Lucas, and Cassius Winston to name a few. Incoming point guard Jeremy Fears looks like he could be a special name to add to that list as well. While the keys to the driver’s seat at the point guard spot are in good hands for the next couple of years, Izzo is always thinking ahead, and could Acuff be an answer?