Mailbag 189: What should you expect from Tahaad Pettiford?
This week: Jahki Howard, JP Pegues, lineups, OOB defense, Walker White, the Ultimate universe, the Braves and my favorite college town
PG/SG Tahaad Pettiford (Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)
AUBURN — Hi, y’all. There’s noticeably more of you here this week than last week.
Last week’s mailbag was right before Auburn basketball’s landmark road win over Houston. The Observations from that game became the most-read and most-subscribed story in the history of the newsletter. During our tipoff week sale, we got nearly 100 new subscribers.
The excitement around Auburn basketball is massive, and it should be. One of my biggest goals when starting this several years ago was to cover that sport with as much effort and energy as most places cover football. That has paid off in a big way, and I can’t thank you guys enough for your support so far.
This week’s mailbag is primarily focused on basketball, but we’ve got a few football questions towards the end as the Tigers get back to action this weekend — and try to salvage something from what has been a brutal step backwards.
We’ve got a lot to get to in this one. Let’s go.
Trying to approach Pettiford’s UH performance and AUbundance of caution. How much stock do you put into the idea of teams figuring guys out as more “tape” gets put out?
Anecdotally, do you have precedents that lead you to think that TP will acclimate and improve, or become stifled as defense stiffens?
Brother Benji
While I think teams will have a better idea of what works the best against Pettiford as time goes on this season, let me ask you a question: What are teams going to want to do against him that Houston — the nation’s best defense — didn’t try last Saturday?
Think about it. Go back to the Film Room from earlier this week. Pettiford put on a show against a Houston defense that blitzes and double-teams point guards on ball screens all night long, and it does so better than anyone else in college basketball.
Pettiford handled all that pressure like a pro. He didn’t commit a single turnover, and he made play after play for the Tigers on offense. Several of his baskets were just a case of him beating a man 1-on-1, and he did so with a variety of dribble moves and ways to create shooting space. It was a special performance from a special talent.
If Houston couldn’t affect him enough with an elite, pressure-heavy defense, I’m having a hard time of thinking what strategy could slow him down moving forward. Switching will give him favorable matchups off the dribble. Backing off will give him more space to fire away. I mean, this is the same kid who hit a wild midrange shot against Kent State on Wednesday night that was perfectly guarded.
Now, this doesn’t mean he’ll completely avoid having off nights. Against Kent State, he went just 1-4 from deep and had a pair of turnovers. (He still scored nine points and had four assists.) Like Bruce Pearl said earlier this week, he’s “going to be like the Dow Jones,” because that’s what freshmen do.
But Pettiford has plenty of time to improve and adapt. It’s not like he’s a finished product, although he looked close to it against Houston. He’s got to avoid getting in early foul trouble, because that’s burned him a couple of times already in his freshman campaign. Going after him on offense might be the best way for an opponent to slow him down overall.
Remember, Jabari Smith scored less than 10 points in two of his first three games at Auburn — against Morehead State and South Florida. He then did that just three more times for the remaining 31 games and was the National Freshman of the Year. Be patient with Pettiford, and I think it’ll pay off big over time.
Ferg, why is Jahki Howard still on this Auburn basketball team? The in game attitude, coupled with an off the court altercation with a teammate from the 8th or 9th man in the rotation (all before November 10th!) seems like a horrible sign for things to come.
I know Bruce thinks he can fix anyone, but man this just seems like the risk outweighs the reward here ten fold. This team seemed to have a blast Saturday and jeopardizing that for a rotation player seems dumb, IMO.
Huey
In my opinion, the Jahki Howard and Turtle Hudson situation from last Friday has largely been an overreaction contest. This question is another example of that.