Auburn lost almost every member of its rotation from the Final Four squad the previous year, including freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford, who entered the NBA Draft while still eligible to attend college. It would not be shocking if NBA scouts were captivated by Pettiford’s explosive style of play, but head coach Bruce Pearl seems confident that Pettiford will return for his sophomore campaign as he targets another front-court player through the transfer portal.
AuburnUndercover reports that James Scott, a forward for Louisville, will visit Auburn. The 6-foot-11 center would be the fourth front-court acquisition the Tigers have made through the portal this summer. He averaged 7.1 points and 6.1 rebounds for the Cardinals the previous season.
Louisville transfer James Scott set to visit Auburn
Pearl needed to address both forward slots because Dylan Cardwell and Johni Broome both used up their remaining seasons of eligibility. He has so far added Keyshawn Hall from UCF, who might be the team’s main offensive creator, Elyjah Freeman, a Division II transfer, and KeShawn Murphy from Mississippi. The lone backcourt addition Pearl has made is 6-foot-5 off-ball guard Kevin Overton from Texas Tech, and Hall is the smallest of the bunch at 6′ 7″.
It’s clear that Pearl is putting size first, particularly in the backcourt and on the wing. He probably learned this from JP Pegues’ difficulties the previous season after moving from Furman as an undersized guard. Scott isn’t going to be the person the Tigers need to handle the ball, though.
On the inside, Scott is a real finisher. Last season, Scott had an effective field goal percentage of 75.9 percent, which was in the 99th percentile, with 86.6% of his points coming from the paint. A solid rim protector, opponents shot 34.2 percent in the paint while he was on the floor last season (44.1 percent with Scott off the floor).
He will contribute to the Tigers on both sides of the court, but he needs someone to pass the ball to him offensively, and Pearl has acquired nearly everyone this season who does just that. Although Hall is capable of creating his own shots, he only contributed 15% of UCF’s assists, which is still far more than Overton’s 6.8%.
Miles Kelly and Denver Jones both played out their final season of eligibility along with Broome and Cardwell, but Pearl hasn’t found a genuine point guard and is still looking for other big men. With its flex cuts and continuous off-ball movement, Pearl’s system can operate uniquely around front-court initiators. However, his squad lacks a point guard, so he either has a strong conviction in four-star Kaden Magwood or is anticipating Pettiford’s return.
Though he’s a score-first player, Pettiford demonstrated incredible progress during the course of his rookie season, and if he does remove his name from the NBA Draft to join a stacked frontcourt that may include Scott, then Auburn has a Final Four potential once again. If not, Pearl could be in danger.
