‘That little boy can hoop’: Tahaad Pettiford continues to shine bright in the biggest moments

ATLANTA, Ga. — When Auburn needed him the most, like he’s done all season, freshman Tahaad Pettiford showed up.

Pettiford scored 20 points in the game, but it was his second-half performance that helped spark the Auburn comeback. The youngster wasn’t great in the first half. He had just five points on 2-of-6 shooting and three turnovers at the break.

The final 20 minutes were a different story.

Pettiford scored 15 second-half points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-4 from three and 3-of-3 from the foul line, while adding three assists and no turnovers. And his three-pointer with Auburn down nine was the catalyst to the Tigers turning a nine-point deficit into a 13-point win over the final 12-plus minutes.

Form the day he stepped foot on campus, Pettiford has shown a fearlessness and level of maturity that is rare.

“You’re going to mess up. You’re going to miss shots, turn it over. It’s what you do after that,” Pettiford said. “I try and keep my composure high. My team needs me. If I’m slacking and not doing what I need to do, the game could be a whole different type of game.”

Senior Dylan Cardwell didn’t mince words when talking about Pettiford.

“Two words: big balls.”

Cardwell continued, “I don’t cuss at all, but I just stopped and said, ‘holy you know what’. Good grief. He’s special bro. He’s special. There’s nothing that dude can’t do. He makes the toughest shots ever. I’m scratching my head. I can’t explain what he does.”

Here’s what is incredible about what Pettiford continues to do this season.

Eleven of Pettiford’s top 15 scoring performances this season have come on a neutral floor or on the road. Of his top seven scoring performances, all of them have come on a neutral floor or on the road. And, Pettiford now has 59 points in Auburn’s three NCAA Tournament wins.

“Clutch” doesn’t even begin to describe Pettiford.

“He’s nasty,” Chad Baker-Mazara said. “That little boy can hoop.”

All-American Johni Broome agrees.

“He’s a good person, good human being. He listens to us, as being a freshman, but there’s not too many freshmen who can take over a game like he can,” Broome said.

“You saw in today’s game he had a spurt where he just took over the game.”

Bruce Pearl dove even deeper into Pettiford’s play and overall demeanor. Pearl provided a fantastic perspective on Pettiford and his relationship with Auburn’s most veteran players.

“I want to give Johni credit in this regard. These guys are best friends. This is a senior in his fifth year. He’s got a lot of other stuff going on. But when it comes to just messing around, having fun, he’s just sort of loving on that little shit,” Pearl said.

“That’s all he’s done. He is a little shit, you know, and he’s loved on him. And you know what, so Tahaad, he cares about Dylan. He cares about the seniors on this team. And he really wants to deliver for them.”

And if you are looking for a spark that maybe started Pettiford back in the right direction after a rough start against Michigan, look no further than former Auburn point guard Tre Donaldson.

Donaldson made a bucket with 11:09 remaining in the first half. Pettiford was the defender. When Donaldson was backing up after making the shot, he signaled “too small” to Pettiford.

Bad idea, it would seem.

Donaldson didn’t score again in the game, but did have four turnovers after that moment. Pettiford? He scored all 20 of his points following Donaldson’s taunt.

“Yea, I saw it,” Pettiford said when asked if he remembered Donaldson’s gesture.

“We’ll just say that was his last points.”

Statement made.

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