BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The last question directed to Kevin Overton at SEC Tipoff ’27 came from someone who, like KO, was wearing an Auburn basketball uniform.
“Having a summer playing with Tahaad Pettiford, how do you feel going into this season?” the “reporter” inquired.
“I’m not too impressed with him,” Overton responded.
“Good night,” said Pettiford, abruptly ending the interview and walking away while both teammates and the assembled press corps laughed Tuesday at Hotel Wildemont.
Reunited after leading the Tigers to the NIT championship last season, Pettiford and Overton provide the Tigers with an essential building block in Steven Pearl’s second season as Auburn’s head coach: a proven backcourt.
“Excited about both those guys coming back and being able to build this around them,” Pearl said. “It really helps in your conversations with these kids in the portal when you're able to tell them we're able to return two of the better guards in the SEC with Tahaad and KO coming back.”
After combining to average nearly 30 points per game last season, Pettiford and Overton welcomed a new roster of teammates.
“He's continuing to work on his leadership on and off the floor,” Pearl said of Pettiford, his junior point guard who led the Tigers with 145 assists last season. “His routine has been really solid. He's in a great place mentally right now. I think part of that is we did a better job of constructing this roster to be able to bring out the strengths of his game.”
Deeper, bigger and more seasoned than last year, Auburn boasts up to 13 players who could see meaningful minutes, says Pearl.
“It's nice to have that many pieces that you can plug and play as the year goes on,” said Pearl, in his 13th year at Auburn and his 18th in the in the SEC.
Most noticeable to fans is the arrival of 7-footers Bukky Oboye and Narcisse Ngoy, twin Tiger towers to protect the rim and provide options on offense.
“They're drastically different players, which I think adds an interesting wrinkle to our frontline,” Pearl said. “Bukky can stretch the floor and can really shoot it. Two very different players, which I think will make it challenging for our opponents to have to scout us.”
After their two-hour circuit at SEC Media Days, Overton and Pettiford headed to a nearby gym to prepare for Wednesday’s Ballin’ in Boutwell exhibition against Florida State, unconcerned with a preseason media poll that picked Auburn to finish ninth in the SEC.
“I don’t really pay attention to the outside noise,” said Overton, a 41.3-percent 3-point shooter in his first Auburn season in 2025-26. “It’s always been like that my whole life and career so it’s another underdog story for me.”
“It definitely gives us a chip, being ranked there,” Pettiford said. “After last year I knew that was going to happen but we have a lot to prove.”
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer