Auburn Pro Day Notebook: Pettiford shines, newcomers make an impression
A big day for the Auburn Tigers is in the books inside Neville Arena as Steven Pearl’s team hosted Pro Day, allowing the team to hit the floor in front of NBA scouts to get some action in and make a quick impression on people from the next level.
The media was allowed to observe Thursday’s happenings, which included an intrasquad scrimmage with five four-minute periods. Auburn Undercover was in attendance and took note of a number of topics during the action.
Among the players that recorded stats in the scrimmage the division of players saw Tahaad Pettiford, Kolby King, Caleb Williams, Adam Olsen, Bukky Oboye and Simon Walker on the blue side. On the white side, it was Kevin Overton, George Kimble III, Mantas Rubštaviciuš, Thomas Dowd, Narcisse Ngoy and Blake Muschalek.
Starting from the top, early showings from Pettiford point to his agility and shiftiness being on full display once again. An early possession for the blue side in the first period saw him handling the ball against Overton, make a dribble move that broke Overton’s ankles and drain a 3-point shot from the right wing.
Pettiford, who said he has worked on his shot a lot in the offseason, also put up a number of shots on the day and was feeling a rhythm. That was specifically evident from deep, where he went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
On the other side of him, Overton quietly put up a solid day on the floor as well. The defense from the blue team defended him close on the perimeter, but Overton still managed to find ways to score points on the inside, being one of four players overall that got into double digits.
Auburn made a point of finding its outside shots, taking 28 throughout the scrimmage. Of those, 13 were made, making it 46.43 percent success rate from deep for both sides.
On the inside game, there was a lot of physicality with the matchup between Oboye and Ngoy, as the two 7-footers tested each other one-on-one. There were other times however where the two were tested with multiple guys around them.
Nonetheless, the popular move on the inside for the blue team was to put a lob pass inside or up to the basket for Oboye, who slammed the ball in for a dunk on a number of occasions. Oboye was No. 4 among centers in the West Coast Conference in points per game while he was at Santa Clara.
Forward Adam Olsen, a transfer from South Alabama, also showcased his length, being able to reach passes that were outside while getting around to guard ball handlers from a distance away. The forward also showcased his range, making the majority of his four 3-pointers that he took.
Overall on the defensive end, there were no blocks or steals recorded in the first two periods of play. However, that all changed in the final three periods, with two blocks and five steals combined from the two teams.
However, Pearl noted a number of times that he wanted to see his guys guarding with a lot more pressure and he wanted to see more urgency from his team in getting down the court.
Opportunities were also earned to get to the charity stripe throughout the game, as a lot of fouls came on the interior near the paint. At the same time though, both sides combined for 80 percent shooting at the line, with Pettiford and Oboye combining to go 11-for-14.
Below is the final unofficial stats from the scrimmage.
Blue team:
Tahaad Pettiford: 22 points (4-6 2PT, 3-5 3PT, 6-7 FT), 1 rebound, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 0 turnovers
Kolby King: 0 points (0-2 2PT, 0-2 3PT, 0-1 FT), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers
Caleb Williams: 9 points (4-6 2PT, 0-2 3PT, 1-2 FT), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 0 turnovers
Adam Olsen: 9 points (3-4 3PT), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 0 turnovers
Bukky Oboye: 15 points (5-6 2PT, 0-1 3PT, 5-7 FT), 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 0 turnovers
Simon Walker: 3 points (0-1 2PT, 1-1 3PT), 2 rebounds, 0 turnovers
White team
Kevin Overton: 18 points (4-7 2PT, 2-4 3PT, 4-4 FT), 4 rebounds, 1 assist
George Kimble III: 13 points (1-1 2PT, 2-4 3PT, 5-6 FT), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 0 turnovers
Mantas Rubštaviciuš: 9 points (1-1 2PT, 2-4 3PT, 1-1 FT), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 0 turnover
Thomas Dowd: 8 points (4-5 2PT, 0-1 3PT), 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover
Narcisse Ngoy: 8 points (3-4 2PT, 2-4 FT), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 0 turnovers
Blake Muschalek: 0 points (0-1 2PT), 1 rebound
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
