Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl revealed his intentions on Wednesday to make minor position adjustments ahead of the upcoming season. Pearl spoke to the media before taking the court for 2024 Pro Day, where nearly 30 NBA scouts made the trip to evaluate the Tigers’ talented and veteran squad.
It didn’t take long for Pearl to express his desires for potential modifications to the lineup during Wednesday’s press conference. With the Auburn coaching staff bringing in five quality additions to the roster throughout the offseason – two freshmen and three transfers – combined with the late trends of last season, changes were expected to be made.
The Tigers are returning a majority of their leading production from the 2023-24 campaign, including senior guard Denver Jones. The 6-foot-4 sharp shooter proved to be one of Auburn’s top players towards the end of last year, as Jones shot just over 54% from beyond the arc in the Tigers’ final nine games played.
The majority of his playing time came at shooting guard, but he also received a handful of minutes running the point. Despite limited time at the position, Jones exhibited a great ability to handle all of the tasks that are presented with playing point guard – something that Pearl has taken into consideration.
“I have several guys that are returning that are going to be playing different positions,” Pearl said. “For example, Denver Jones is going to be playing one and two. He didn’t play any point guard last year with the exception of a week and a half when Aden (Holloway) was out…maybe two weeks.”
This also affects freshman Tahaad Pettiford, a four-star McDonald’s All-American from Jersey City, NJ. Pettiford is a speedy, versatile guard who can attack the basket while also displaying intense aggression on the defensive end. His speed and pace at which he plays the game stands out – a big reason why he has turned some heads and exceeded expectations over the course of the summer and fall.
“Tahad Pettiford is a guy that was absolutely going to come in and I was only going to play him off the ball,” Pearl said. “But with his own personal development, he looks like he can also play point and handle the load of learning three positions…the two and the three are identical positions.”
“And the enormous responsibility at the one, where you need to know every position. He’s demonstrated to me that he can handle a couple rotations at point guard.”
Furthermore, probably the most notable development of the offseason is regarding the front court.
"Johni Broome is going to play four and five,” Pearl said. “He played 12 minutes at the four last year when Jaylin Williams was hurt.”
This is not a new headline; the idea that Broome could start at the four with Dylan Cardwell at the five has been a talking point since the spring with the departure of power forward Jaylin Williams – the winningest player in Auburn basketball history.
Those 12 minutes that Broome spent at the four came against Georgia on February 24, 2024 to fill the absence of an injured Williams; he was complemented by Cardwell at the five.
There was some smoke built up around that time surrounding what the Tigers would do to address the near departure of Williams, who had been a key component to the program in recent years. In addition to Broome’s NBA-level skillset on both ends of the floor, Cardwell showed last year that he is one of the top rim protectors in the league. The combination of Broome’s point production and Cardwell’s paint presence has the opportunity to be an elite force. The performances of Broome and Cardwell in Athens last February – and throughout the entire season – raised eyebrows about chances that the two could see some minutes on the floor together for the 2024-25 season.
The emergence of forwards Chaney Johnson and SMU transfer Ja’Heim Hudson, accompanied by veteran fifth-year senior Chris Moore also provide depth at the four position, giving Pearl and company a couple of different combinations to experiment with.
“It’s a potential for Johni to start at the four and that depends on Dylan Cardwell and Chaney Johnson and Jaheim Hudson and Chris Moore,” Pearl said. “Now, whether or not Dylan starts at five and Johni starts at four or Chaney starts at four and Johni starts at five… that’s all going to be taking place this month and it could change during the course of the year because of matchups and things like that.”
All of these position changes, rotation variations, and a multitude of additions to the roster were primed to leave Pearl with some uncertainty that will hopefully be cleared up in the coming weeks.
Pearl looks forward to learning more about his team’s identity as Auburn steps into the heart of pre-season practice, ultimately leading up to the start of the season against FAU in an exhibition matchup on November 1.
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Gunner is a freshman majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
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