Auburn Tigers basketball signee Kaden Magwood leaves his known environment of North Carolina to start his college basketball journey at Auburn. For their part, the Tigers begin to look forward as well after a Final Four run.
The Tigers are losing all-five starters heading into next season, and Magwood could help kickstart the new era of Auburn basketball. While not the biggest (6’0 and 170 pounds), the incoming freshman uses that a motivation.
He was rated as the No. 11 combo guard in the country by 247Sports and No. 60 prospect regardless of position.
“Magwood is competitive, aggressive, and extremely confident, almost to a fault at times. He can be guilty of dominating the ball and settling for contested shots. He’s a capable passer when he wants to be, but wired to score on every catch and typically only interested in moving the ball when he doesn’t have his own shot,” wrote 247Sports director of scouting Adam Finkelstein.
“He’ll inevitably have to adapt to playing with less volume at the next level, so shot selection and decision making will continue to be key variables. Defensively, he’s active looking to make plays (1.7 steals per game) and shows glimpses of being able and willing to dig in and get stops, but has to be able to sustain that mentality.”
That description sounds rather familiar. In a nutshell, Tahaad Pettiford almost seems like a rather spot-on comparison. Now some would call that positional redundancy, but that isn’t always a bad thing. Plus, with Pettiford testing the NBA waters, there’s no guarantee he returns.
Perfect Storm
The transfer portal defections of Chad Baker Mazara and Jakhi Howard, graduations of Denver Jones and Miles Kelly present a phenomenal opportunity for the freshman. The above-mentioned four brought just 6.5 assists per game, to the table. Forward Johni Broome’s had 2.9 assists per game which paints a wholly different picture. Auburn mastered the inside-out play that led to a 32-6 record. Petitiford would start, opening the door to drive-and-dish capabilities for everyone.
Chemistry
How does a freshman that plays the exact same position as presumably the leading scorer fit into the rotation? In 2024/25, Pettiford only started one game, working his way deeper into the rotation. 11.6 points and three assists in 22.9 minutes could ultimately be the role that Magwood embraces to start the season.
With that said, could the freshman start alongside Pettiford. Despite a long wingspan, Magwood’s lack of size hurts, if you want to slide him over and operate at the two-guard spot. Jones’s defense will be sorely missed and Magwood could see early minutes if he brings a tenacious brand of pressing defense to the Plains.
Bottom Line
To say that Kaden Magwood has some large shoes to fill at Auburn is an understatement. While not solely his responsibility, his predecessors, Jones and Kelly left 22.2 points a night up for grabs. If he can combine with another guard, not named Pettiford to come close to matching that, the Tigers will look in great shape for another run.
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