Auburn has lost practically its entire rotation from last year’s Final Four, including freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford, who entered the NBA Draft while still eligible for college. It’s not surprising that NBA scouts are drawn to Pettiford’s electrifying style of play, but as head coach Bruce Pearl seeks another front-court player through the transfer portal, he appears to believe Pettiford will return for his sophomore season.
Auburn is scheduled 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 season and is the Tigers’ fourth front-court recruit this offseason via the portal.
With Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell having used up their eligibility, Bruce Pearl had to reinforce both forward positions. So far, he’s added KeShawn Murphy from Ole Miss, Division II transfer Elyjah Freeman, and Keyshawn Hall from UCF—who could emerge as the team’s primary offensive engine. Hall, at 6-foot-7, is the shortest of the trio. Pearl’s lone backcourt addition so far is 6-foot-5 off-ball guard Kevin Overton from Texas Tech.
Pearl appears to be heavily emphasizing size, especially on the wings and in the backcourt—possibly influenced by the struggles of undersized guard JP Pegues after transferring from Furman last season. Still, Auburn is missing a true ball-handler, and Scott certainly isn’t that guy.
Scott excels in the paint, where he scored 86.6% of his points last season, boasting an elite 75.9% effective field goal rate (99th percentile). He’s also a strong defensive presence—opponents shot just 34.2% at the rim when he was on the court, compared to 44.1% when he wasn’t.
Scott will be a key two-way contributor, but like most of Pearl’s new additions, he relies on someone to feed him the ball. Hall is capable of creating for himself but recorded just a 15% assist rate at UCF—still significantly better than Overton’s 6.8%.
In addition to Broome and Cardwell, Auburn also lost Miles Kelly and Denver Jones to eligibility expiration, and yet Pearl still hasn’t secured a true point guard, while continuing to target more size up front. His offensive system, which thrives on frontcourt initiation and off-ball movement, could mask that hole—but unless Pearl is banking on four-star freshman Kaden Magwood or the return of Tre Donaldson or Aden Holloway, he’s taking a risk.
Pettiford, who showed major growth during his freshman year despite being a scoring-focused guard, could be the key. If he withdraws from the NBA Draft and rejoins a frontcourt featuring Scott, Auburn could again be a Final Four contender. Without him, the team might struggle to reach its potential.