As a freshman last season, Taahad Pettiford arrived at Auburn as one of the young guys on a team full of seasoned veterans. Players such as Johni Broome, Dylan Cardwell and Chris Moore, among others, had been playing college basketball for some time, providing leadership for the New Jersey native as he found his role on a team that went on to reach the Final Four.
With a year under his belt and plenty of success in his first year, Pettiford has taken on a new role: leader.
“Tahaad Pettiford had a breakout season last year on one of the best teams in college basketball,” Steven Pearl said at SEC Media Day. “He’ll have a different role this year — a target on his back every night — and he’ll need to lead a team with 10 new players. He’s got a great opportunity to show how much he’s grown as a leader and player.”
It's a brand new Auburn team, with Pettiford being the only key returnee from last year's SEC regular-season champions. Coming off the bench last season, the guard averaged 11.6 points, 3.0 assists and 2.2 blocks per game, playing a critical role in the Tigers' success.
Now, as a leader, the point guard will have to grow into a more vocal, in-charge role.
“It’s definitely something new for me coming into this,” Pettiford said. “We’ve got 10 new guys, so it’s a lot different from last year’s team. I went from being the youngest guy on the team to now being considered one of the older guys. I’m just trying to pass down what I learned — especially to the freshmen — and give them a kind of blueprint for what we did last year and how we were successful.
I’ve got to be better,” he said. “I can’t make dumb decisions that could ultimately change my life. I’ve got to think smarter sometimes.”