AUBURN – The SEC could pass through the Yellowhammer State next season.
Auburn and Alabama basketball, coming off campaigns that included an SEC Tournament title and a run to the Final Four, respectively, reloaded their rosters this offseason. Other contenders like Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee may be in the picture, but none of those programs are returning All-Americans like the Tigers are doing with Johni Broome and the Crimson Tide may be doing with Mark Sears.
With Broome back and other pieces like Chad Baker-Mazara and Denver Jones around him, expectations are high for head coach Bruce Pearl’s 11th season. This, however, does not mean that the Tigers are bulletproof.
With offseason additions still to be made and the season opener still months away, here are some of our biggest roster-related questions for Auburn to answer:
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Can Auburn basketball replace Jaylin Williams?
Replacing the production of All-SEC forward Jaylin Williams will be a group effort, rather than the Tigers finding an individual replacement for the Georgia native who spent five years with the program.
Williams averaged a career-best 12.4 points last season, shooting 57.4% efficiently and hitting his 3-pointers at a 39.5% rate. His true shooting percentage of 68.2% ranked 6th among SEC players, by College Basketball Analytics. He was No. 1 among full-time starters. Williams also added 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 34 games.
Chaney Johnson will have to move forward without Williams. In his only start last season, Johnson dropped 16 points and four rebounds on 6-of-9 shooting. Doing so consistently is a tall order, which is why Auburn is still looking at other options at PF to complement Johnson, such as Samford transfer Achor Achor, who is expected to visit the Tigers this week, according to Joe Tipton of On3 Sports.
Does Tahaad Pettiford play PG?
Pearl laid out his plan in March to five-star freshman Tahaad Pettiford: “Get buckets.”
“Tahaad is not a point guard,” Pearl said. “He has the size of a point guard, but everyone assumed Tahaad would come in and be our point guard. … But he’s not a true point guard. He can play a little. In fact, I think early in his career, I’m going to try to play him without the ball and let him do what he does: catch it. buckets.”
Auburn is still searching for a backup PG to pair with Furman transfer J.P. pegas — former UTSA standout Jordan Ivy-Curry is visiting Thursday, by Nathan King from Auburn Undercover. But what if the Tigers don’t get a backup they’re happy with? They will need a body for depth, but if that player isn’t satisfactory, perhaps Pettiford or Jones could get some minutes at PG.
How much does the JP Peças upgrade cost?
The SoCon, where Pegas played last season, and the SEC are not on the same level. But the transfer guard played against enough quality competition to draw some comparisons.
Pegas participated in eight games that ended as Quadrant I or Quadrant II opportunities. His averages in these matchups were 20.4 points, 4.9 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 34.5 minutes, by College Basketball Analytics. He made 39.5% of his 2-pointers and 37.3% of his 3-pointers. His assist-to-turnover ratio fell by 2.27 and his true shooting percentage finished at 59.4%.
The 6-foot-11 pegas is tasked with being an upgrade over Auburn’s point guards from last season: Aden Holloway and Tre Donaldson. This pairing had its strengths and weaknesses, but Penses, who will be competing in his fourth season, is unquestionably more experienced than both of them.
Will this experience lead to a better game?
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached by email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared in the Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn Basketball: Questions for the Tigers as the offseason progresses
