Tahaad Pettiford had a great NBA Draft Combine experience, but the experience of being in Auburn’s starting lineup next season was apparently far more enticing.
Pettiford has withdrawn from the NBA Draft, he announced on social media Wednesday, confirming his spot on the Tigers’ roster next season.
Pettiford was a critical piece of the Tigers’ Final Four run, scoring 12 points per game off the bench. Big games didn’t phase him the fab freshman.
He scored 21 points against Houston, 20 against Duke, 18 against Purdue, 21 against Kentucky and 20 in the Sweet 16 against Michigan.
Pettiford’s draft stock seemed to rise during the NBA Combine, when during the first scrimmage he scored 23 points and dished out eight assists, doing so on 8-for-16 shooting and 4-for-8 shooting from 3-point range. Those numbers came after Pettiford registered a 42-inch max vertical leap, the second highest among participating players at this year’s combine.
Pearl spoke about Pettiford at the Fore The Children Golf Event last week. He said if Pettiford dropped into the 20s on draft charts, he thought he would return to the Tigers. In ESPN’s most recent mock draft, Pettiford was projected to be picked 37th overall by the Detroit Pistons, keeping him in the second round.
“If he does come back,” Pearl said May 19, “he’s gonna play an expanded role. which I know is something exciting to him. Probably exciting to our fan base, too because you’ll get to see more of him because he’s gonna be a starter.”