Auburn basketball star Tahaad Pettiford was arrested on Saturday morning with a DUI charge in Lee County, Alabama, per jail logs obtained by ESPN.
The anticipated SEC Player of the Yr contender for the upcoming season was released from jail midday and isn’t any longer on the list as an inmate within the jail’s log, the outlet reported.
The incident comes just weeks after Pettiford withdrew from the NBA draft to rejoin the Tigers for his sophomore season, trying to prove he is prepared for the subsequent level.
“We’re aware of the situation, and we’ll handle it internally with Tahaad and his family,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said in a press release to ESPN on Saturday. “We take these matters seriously and can learn and grow from it moving forward.”
In his freshman yr, Pettiford averaged 11.6 points per game while shooting 42.1 percent from the sector across a median 22.9 minutes.
He was a key member of an Auburn team that went on to achieve the Final 4 last season, averaging 15.2 points within the five tournament games.
The Jersey City native might be an enormous highlight of the team’s next chapter after star Johni Broome was chosen by the 76ers at thirty fifth overall.
“I used to be glad to undergo the method, getting feedback from NBA teams,” Pettiford told ESPN on the time of leaving the draft. “Going back to Auburn is a greater situation for me. I see myself being a better pick next yr. It wasn’t 100% this yr, so I didn’t need to take that likelihood.”
Pettiford wasn’t an element of the large freshman conversation throughout last season, but for the upcoming yr, he’s on a brief list of players as a possible preseason All-American.
Prior to now, Pearl has applauded Pettiford’s team-player mentality when it got here to accepting his place and playing time amongst a team of veterans.
“I suppose some would just type of expect that to be an issue,” Pearl said about Pettiford’s situation in April. “Not a word. Not a body language, shoulder shrug, roll eye ever from Tahaad.”
