Bruce Pearl details what led to Tahaad Pettiford coming back to Auburn

Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford announced that he would be withdrawing from the 2025 NBA Draft and returning to college on May 28, pleasing Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl and Tiger fans everywhere.

During an interview with Andy Katz on “The Sideline with Andy Katz,” Pearl detailed what led to Pettiford returning to Auburn (including a slight diss at former Auburn forward Chad Baker-Mazara, who transferred to USC for his final season of college basketball).

“Well first of all, going somewhere else was not ever a factor because that’s now how Tahaad Pettiford is built,” Pearl said. “That’s not how [his father] Travis Pettiford is built. That’s not how his coaches are built that are around him. They’re not loyal to a fault, but they are loyal. Tahaad, every step of the way, has proven people wrong. He was ranked 25th coming out of high school and come on, there weren’t 24 players better than Tahaad Pettiford other than he was just six-feet tall.”

In what was a stellar freshman campaign, Pettiford played in 38 games (one start) and averaged 22.9 minutes per game as a key player for the Tigers. Pettiford finished the season averaging 11.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game. He did that while shooting 42.1 percent from the field, 36.6 percent from three-point range, and 80.4 percent from the free-throw line. Then, on the defensive end, he averaged 0.2 blocks and 0.9 steals per game.

Pearl claims that Pettiford needs to get bigger/stronger

“He comes to Auburn and checks off so many boxes because he’s one of the top-ten freshman and gets to the Final Four,” Pearl continued. “And he’s put in good positions to do what he really can do with a veteran team. And now all of a sudden, he’s on the [NBA] Draft board. What does he do? He goes to the [NBA Draft] Combine, and there he’s the best player on the floor. Now there weren’t a ton of first rounders out there playing, but he did what he does. He’s done nothing but help himself every step of the way, and why not take one more step?”

Pettiford did in fact impress many onlookers, as his 42-inch vertical jump was the second-best of the combine. Then, in a scrimmage, he scored 23 points with eight assists. There was plenty of buzz around him, but he still returned to Auburn for another run.

“He’s [165 pounds],” Pearl said with a grin. As you look at the NBA right now and look at those guys playing in the playoffs, just like in the Final Four, the physicality late in season matters. He saw that and recognized that. He’s got to get bigger and he’s got to get stronger. The opportunity now this year will be to lead this team, where last year this was Johni [Broome] or Denver [Jones’] team. He didn’t need to lead, and that really helped him just play and step up in big games. Now he needs to lead, which is going to be great training for him as he heads to the next level.”

The Jersey City, NJ native is the lone returning player for Auburn that played in last season’s Final Four game against Florida.

On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this article.