Tahaad Pettiford doesn't plan on taking his talents anywhere but the NBA if he doesn't return to the Plains for the 2025-26 college basketball season.
Based on his update to Auburn Undercover's Nathan King, it sounds like a return to the Tigers is weighing heavily on his mind, given how successful his freshman season went.
"Just try to move up on the boards and try to get me a guaranteed contract," Pettiford said when asked about his draft plans. "If that doesn't work out, just go back to Auburn and do what we did last year and run it back again.
"A blessing to be part of a team like that. Obviously we accomplished the goals we had. We fell short, but that season was nothing short of a blessing. Everything we went through, the downs and ups, it was worth it. I can say not a lot of people had the freshman year I had."
Bruce Pearl struck a professional and cautious tone while discussing Pettiford's potential return.
"The lottery will come out before the combine, so we'll know who's drafting 20 through 30," Pearl said last month. "We'll have an idea going into Chicago, where Tahaad will play in the combine, to see who's drafting 20 through 30 — if there's some interest for a smaller point guard among those ball clubs."
Undoubtedly, Pettiford's return would be the best news that Pearl's Auburn Tigers basketball has received since Johni Broome's return last year, and dates back a while before that. While the veteran pillars of that Final Four team are gone, a battle-tested Pettiford could be one of the game's deadliest weapons next year in any conference.
Whether or not he's picked in June, Pettiford is a future NBA talent. Having that one more year in the Loveliest Village would spark plenty of hope for AU finally getting over the hump next April.