Aden Holloway, a freshman point guard at Auburn, was rumored to be planning to register his name into the transfer portal on Tuesday morning.
Six days had passed since sophomore point guard Tre Donaldson also said that he would be exploring his transfer options when Holloway made his decision. During the previous season, Holloway and Donaldson combined to start every game at point guard (Halloway with 26 starts and Donaldson with 10).
It looks like Auburn may be heading toward a total overhaul at the point guard position right now.
What happens next?
First of all, it’s crucial to understand that players like Holloway and Donaldson may not actually complete the transfer just because they accessed the portal. Returning to Auburn is always an option, provided they don’t sign with another program.
It’s also worth noting that Auburn guard Denver Jones got looks at point guard down the stretch of last season.
Meanwhile, Auburn has already signed 5-star McDonald’s All-American Tahaad Pettiford, who ranks as the No. 1 point guard in the 2024 recruiting class.
And while one may think Pettiford is a shoo-in to be the Tigers’ next floor general, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl says not so fast.
“Tahaad’s not a point guard,” Pearl said March 28. “He’s got the size of a point guard, but everyone assumed Tahaad was going to come in and be our point guard. He’s not.”
Instead, Pearl is calling it like he sees it.
During Pettiford’s junior year at Hudson Catholic in Jersey City, N.J., he averaged just over 19 points per game. On four occasions, Pettiford logged performances of 30-plus points and twice he eclipsed the 40-point mark.
“Tahaad is a scorer,” Pearl said. “He is an incredible athlete. He can make plays on both ends of the floor. He’s going to be one of the fastest, quickest, most explosive little guards I’ve ever had. But he’s not a true point guard. Can he play some? He might.”
With Auburn now looking at being without not just one — but both — starting point guards from the 2023-24 season, it seems reasonable to assume Pettiford “might” play some point guard for the Tigers.
Another name that has recently been associated with Auburn is Myles Rice of Washington State.
Given that Rice played travel ball with former Auburn standout Jabari Smith while in high school and attended the university, Jamie Shaw of On3 Sports announced Auburn as a program of interest for Rice on April 2.
After averaging 14.8 points and 3.8 assists in his final game as a redshirt freshman for the Cougars, Rice was named the Pac-12 Rookie of the Year.
Auburn has already been tied to a number of portal prospects with one of the biggest names being Furman transfer point guard JP Pegues. Pegues averaged 18.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists this past season with the Paladins.
On April 5, On3 Sports’ Joe Tipton reported Auburn was one of four finalists for Pegues, who also included Florida, Oklahoma and South Carolina in his top four.
Another name that has recently been associated with Auburn is Myles Rice of Washington State.
Given that Rice played travel ball with former Auburn standout Jabari Smith while in high school and attended the university, Jamie Shaw of On3 Sports announced Auburn as a program of interest for Rice on April 2.
After averaging 14.8 points and 3.8 assists in his final game as a redshirt freshman for the Cougars, Rice was named the Pac-12 Rookie of the Year.
