Auburn basketball is making moves in the transfer portal, and Bruce Pearl’s latest target says a lot without saying much: he’s betting on the return of electric guard Tahaad Pettiford.
As the Tigers continue to reshape their roster after losing nearly their entire rotation from last season’s Final Four run, Pearl is looking to fortify the frontcourt with Louisville transfer James Scott. The 6-foot-11 center averaged 7.1 points and 6.1 rebounds last season and is scheduled to visit Auburn. While Scott’s visit isn’t front-page news on its own, the context behind it adds major intrigue.
Despite not yet landing a true point guard, Pearl continues stacking bigs in the portal—Scott would be the fourth frontcourt addition, following KeShawn Murphy (Ole Miss), Keyshawn Hall (UCF), and Division II standout Elyjah Freeman. This trend strongly hints that Pearl feels confident his backcourt puzzle will solve itself with the potential return of Pettiford, who declared for the NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility.
Pettiford, Auburn’s dynamic freshman guard and a former five-star recruit, turned heads with his explosive playmaking last season. While he’s a score-first player, he showed notable growth as a floor general. If he returns to join a frontcourt loaded with size, rim protection, and interior scoring, Auburn could once again be knocking on the door of the Final Four.
Scott, in particular, is a force inside. He scored nearly 87% of his points in the paint and held opponents to just 34.2% shooting around the rim—elite defensive numbers. Offensively, he’s not a shot-creator, but with the right playmaker setting him up, he can be a lethal finisher. His 75.9% effective field goal percentage ranks in the 99th percentile nationally. Translation: feed him the ball down low, and good things happen.
The glaring hole on Auburn’s roster is still at point guard. Pearl hasn’t added anyone to truly fill that void, unless he believes incoming freshman Kaden Magwood is ready to take the reins—or, more likely, unless he knows Pettiford is coming back. That confidence is what makes this portal pursuit so interesting.
If Pettiford returns and Scott commits, Auburn will have the ingredients for another deep tournament run. But if the gamble doesn’t pay off, Pearl’s high-stakes strategy could backfire. The next few weeks will be telling for the Tigers’ 2025 outlook.