What does Bruce Pearl want in a transfer guard? Inside Auburn's effort for 'last piece'

AUBURN — Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl believes his roster is just about set for the 2024-25 season.

There remains just one more move to make.

"I think that's the last piece — one more impactful guard," Pearl said Monday at his charity golf event at the Willow Point Golf and Country Club in Alexander City. "... We really need one more guy that has a chance to compete. It really doesn't matter for me which position it's going to be, whether it's a 1/2 or a 2/1, a 2/3, a 3/2 — it doesn't really matter. But it'll be one more guard.

"We've tried to be really patient to get the right fit. We're involved with a couple of really good ones. I can't believe we're in the middle of May and we're not done recruiting, but that's what the combination of NIL and the transfer portal has done."

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Auburn runs a system in which the small forward is included in the back court, along with the point guard and shooting guard. Those positions are often interchangeable, given a player has the adequate height and defensive abilities to survive in another role.

For example: Jared Harper, listed at 5-foot-11, was too small to play anything but point guard when he was at Auburn. Denver Jones, though, is big enough to play shooting guard — his natural position — but has the lateral quickness to keep up with smaller, craftier guards. That, coupled with his playmaking chops, means he can play some point guard.

Auburn lost both of its PGs to the portal this offseason in Aden Holloway and Tre Donaldson. KD Johnson and Lior Berman, two veterans in the back court, also moved on. In their place, the Tigers have brought in Furman transfer JP Pegues and freshmen Tahaad Pettiford and Jahki Howard.

"Can we play better defensively? Can we shoot it a little bit better? And can we get a little bit more tough 2-point baskets, or a little bit more from the position? That's what I need," Pearl said when asked what he's looking for in a transfer guard. "Can JP or whoever plays the position give us a little bit more? ... I think we can get more."

Pearl said in March he planned to use Pettiford, a five-star recruit rated by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 28 player in the Class of 2024, in an off-ball role. Pettiford is tabbed as the No. 2 PG in the country, but Pearl doesn't want to heap too much responsibility on him as a freshman.

But that may change depending on who's the last transfer piece for the Tigers.

"The reason why Tahaad's not a point guard right now is because he's such a good scorer and a good shooter," Pearl said. "... At the same time, I definitely see him coming in and competing for minutes at the 1, if I wind up taking a guy that's a 2 or a 3. If we take another 2/1, then he'll be right where he is. But if we do take a wing, then I think he'll, by virtue of his size, be put in a position where he'll play both positions."

Pegues will eat up most of the minutes at PG. The question is who — Jones, Pettiford or a transfer — will spell him when he's on the bench.

"As a point guard, he'll scratch where it itches," Pearl said of Pegues. "Depending upon where we're strong and where we're weak, he'll go. He's smart enough, he's got a high IQ. He'll know through the summer where we need to get the ball."

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball: Tigers looking for 'last piece' in transfer portal