I’ve been under the weather lately, so yesterday, I planned to just relax and catch some college hoops. I tuned into the Auburn vs. Georgia game, mostly to watch Asa Newell, with no intention of writing anything. But that quickly changed when Tahaad Pettiford stepped onto the court.

This kid Pettiford is a HOOPER. Sure, you could point out that he’s undersized, but let me tell you—he’s a HOOPER. You can tell the second he walks onto the floor; Pettiford oozes confidence. Auburn just looked better with him on the floor. He closed out both halves, and it doesn’t matter if he’s coming off the bench or starting—he’s a walking bucket.

From the moment he checked in, Pettiford was knocking down threes. One shot in particular was a nasty step-back three off an escape dribble, great footwork into a smooth, confident shot. Pettiford was cooking—12 points in 6 minutes, finishing the first half with 15 and wrapping up with a career high 24 on the game. But his three-point shooting isn’t his only strength.

He was constantly making the right pass to find his teammates. Whether off a dribble handoff or pick-and-roll, Pettiford showed a great feel for the game, delivering the ball where it needed to be. He also flashed the ability to finish with both hands. One play that stood out was a right-handed floater (his off-hand), which shows the versatility in his game. Honestly, Pettiford didn’t show many weaknesses on the offensive end.

Now, he didn’t get to the rim much, and when he did, he had some struggles finishing. I’ll be watching more to see how he gets to the rim in the future. Pettiford relied heavily on his jumper, which worked well, but there’s a question of how often he’ll be able to get to the rim consistently at the next level. He did get blocked on a step-back three and had a couple of careless turnovers, but overall, I enjoyed watching him play.

As for Asa Newell, I see a big man with a lot of potential. Georgia runs a lot of action through him—he’s a strong passer and can put the ball on the floor. Newell also showed that he can knock down the three, which will catch the attention of NBA scouts. He’s got a nice hook shot in the paint, too. On offense, it seemed like he lacked some physicality, but defensively, he was much more engaged, using his body well and protecting the rim.

Newell had a tough moment late in the game when he missed a game-tying lob layup off an inbounds pass under the basket. It was a difficult attempt, so credit to him for even getting the shot off. Overall, it was an incredibly entertaining game, with Auburn coming out on top 70-68. Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded if this game had gone to overtime—that’s how enjoyable it was to watch.