The No. 1-seed Auburn Tigers advanced to the Elite Eight of the 2025 NCAA Tournament with a 78-65 win over Michigan in the Sweet Sixteen.
A big part of the reason the Tigers are within one win of the Final Four is the tandem of senior big man Johni Broome and freshman guard Tahaad Pettiford. In their most recent victory, Broome scored 22 points and grabbed 16 rebounds while the rookie scored 20 points of his own.
Head coach Bruce Pearl joined Broome, Pettiford, and guard Denver Jones (who also scored 20 in the win) to meet with the media on Saturday. Pearl, who has made headlines with several 2025 tournament media appearances, was asked about Pettiford and what he means to the team. It allowed him to share some insight into the relationship between the freshman and Broome in a very Bruce Pearl way.
Pearl is hilariousðŸ˜ðŸ˜ pic.twitter.com/eI3zxaSzB2
— Hoops HQ (@hhqsports) March 29, 2025
“I think the biggest thing with Tahaad was, we loved him when he was young,” said Pearl. “People were interested. They were wondering, I was like, ‘No, I want you to run my team or be our scorer, whatever.’ I think Tahaad, he remembered that when he was younger, and we didn’t waver from it. I think he trusted [assistant coach] Ira [Bowman], and he’s learned to trust me. He didn’t know me very well.
“I want to give Johni credit in this regard. These guys are best friends. This is a senior in his fifth year. He’s got a lot of other stuff going on. But when it comes to just messing around and having fun, he’s just loving on that little sh*t. That’s all he’s done. No, he is. He is a little sh*t, you know? And he’s loved on it. And you know what? So Tahaad, he cares about Dylan [Cardwell]. He cares about the seniors on this team, and he really wants to deliver for them.”
It’s not often that being referred to as “a little sh*t” can be read as a badge of honor, but the camaraderie of the Auburn players and coaching staff sure seems to imply that’s the case.
