Bruce Pearl’s latest transfer portal target signals faith in Tahaad Pettiford return

Auburn lost nearly its entire rotation from last year’s Final Four roster, and at the moment, that includes freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford, who entered the NBA Draft while maintaining his collegiate eligibility. It would be no surprise if NBA evaluators become entranced by Pettiford’s electric style of play, but as head coach Bruce Pearl targets another front-court player in the transfer portal, he appears to have faith that Pettiford will return for his sophomore season. 

Auburn is set to host Louisville forward James Scott, according to AuburnUndercover. The 6-foot-11 center averaged 7.1 points and 6.1 rebounds for the Cardinals last year and would be the fourth front-court addition that the Tigers have made through the portal this offseason. 

Louisville transfer James Scott set to visit Auburn

Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell both exhausted their final seasons of eligibility, so Pearl needed to address both forward spots. So far, he’s brought in KeShawn Murphy from Mississippi, Elyjah Freeman, a Division II transfer, and Keyshawn Hall from UCF, who may serve as the team’s primary offensive creator. Hall is the shortest of that group at 6-foot-7, and the only backcourt transfer Pearl has added is 6-foot-5 off-ball guard Kevin Overton from Texas Tech. 

It’s obvious that Pearl is prioritizing size, especially on the wing and in the backcourt, a lesson he likely learned from JP Pegues' struggles last season after transferring from Furman as an undersized guard. However, the Tigers need somebody to handle the ball, and that’s certainly not going to be Scott. 

Scott is a true finisher on the interior. With 86.6% of his points coming in the paint last season, Scott posted a 99th percentile 75.9 percent effective field goal percentage. A solid rim protector, opponents shot 34.2 percent in the paint while he was on the floor last season (44.1 percent with Scott off the floor). 

He’ll fill a role for the Tigers on both ends of the floor, but offensively, he needs someone to get him the ball; almost everyone that Pearl has added this season is that way. Hall can effectively create his own shot, but he managed just a 15 percent assist rate for UCF; still much better than Overton’s 6.8 percent. 

Along with Broome and Cardwell, Miles Kelly and Denver Jones both exhausted their final season of eligibility, yet Pearl hasn’t landed a true point guard and is continuing to pursue additional bigs. Pearl’s offense can uniquely function around front-court initiators with its flex cuts and constant off-ball movement, but his roster needs a point guard, so either he has an unwavering belief in four-star Kaden Magwood, or he is planning on Pettiford’s return. 

Though he’s a score-first player, Pettiford displayed tremendous growth across the course of his freshman season, and if he does pull his name from the NBA Draft to join a loaded frontcourt that could include Scott, then Auburn has a Final Four ceiling once again. If not, Pearl could be in trouble.