It's the lockdown podcast network, your team every day. What's up everybody? This is Ross Jackson, one of the hosts of the lockdown podcast network. And if you haven't heard yet, we started a club and we would love for you to join. It's called the every day or club. And one of the things that you get as a member is an ad free version of the podcast that you're listening to right now. It works with whatever podcast app you already use. Same episodes every day. Just know ads. There's also a members only group chat for fans of your team plus a lot more. You can check it out by tapping the every day or club link in the show notes. As of news breaking yesterday to hot peddiford is remaining an Auburn tiger. You are locked on Auburn, your daily podcast on the Auburn Tigers, part of the locked on podcast network, your team every day. Yes. Happy Sunday. Quick bonus edition of locked on Auburn as the hot peddiford announcing and reports breaking that he will remain a part of Auburn's roster. Arguably the key focal point of Auburn's roster, which is big, big news. We'll talk about some of the names floating around that could become Auburn Tigers as well as some of the other roster moves or I guess confirmations that they will return on this quick Sunday morning edition of locked on Auburn. I'm Zach Blackby and thank you so much for hanging out with us today. The hot peddiford returning is a big, big deal. And look, a deal that I was wrong on. I did not think the hot peddiford would return. I also did not think the hot peddiford would get the same amount of money, but that doesn't seem to be the case clearly, which is great. I think it's great. I was consistent in saying I hope the hot peddiford comes back and I hope he spends all of his college years at Auburn and he becomes an Auburn great, an Auburn legend, and a guy that is associated with Auburn for a long, long time. And this is a major step forward in that happening. So what does this mean as far as Steven Pearl? Well, one, Steven Pearl made the decision that it was worth it, made the decision that, okay, even though he wasn't the most efficient player, especially in the first half of the season, maybe we can do something stylistically to free him up off ball a little bit. Excited about that. As well as, okay, what does it look like when it's his team and Kevin Overton's team versus his team and Kishon Hall's team? I do think that dynamic will be different and one that we probably didn't put enough of an emphasis on. I think we all just kind of assumed since Kishon Hall scored a ton and was a dynamic scorer that that would be an incredible marriage. And that wasn't the case. The chemistry, I'm not saying the guys hate each other, but the chemistry and their style both needing to be ball dominant. It didn't work. It didn't work. And also just the track record of Kishon Hall, like, you know, he scores a lot, but then his team's always given the tournament. I mean, the evidence speaks for himself. And I don't want to, I don't want to bash Kishon Hall here. He was a big part of the NIT tournament run. But all that to say, I think the hot peddifer coming back and continuing to be the face of your program. I mean, this is like Steven Pearl is, is, is putting a lot on the hot peddifer. I think he's worthy of it. Look, if the hot peddifer, I saw several national analysts talking about this. If the hot peddifer would have hit the portal, he would have been arguably the biggest name in the country when it comes to, okay, where is he going to end up? That automatically comes as a national story, which is great. Some of the reporting we've heard and some of the chatter, it sounds like this wasn't a money disagreement as far as like why it wasn't an immediate thing. It sounds like money was green upon and like that wasn't the main issue. Issue is not a, like, I don't mean issue in a negative way, but just like that wasn't the main topic that was discussed. It sounds like fit. Fit was a major, major part of this. What's the plan? How are you going to use me differently next year that will showcase my skills, showcase my ability? And oh, yeah, like put Auburn at a better chance to win as a program. Then it did in 2025 slash 26. How can next season be better because of my play, because of Tahad peddifer's play? That seemed to be the core of the conversation. And I think that's something that should excite. Everyone that pulls for Auburn, everyone watching this, I think the fact that that's the angle of this, that good excite you. Because what do we hear about the portal right now? Oh, everybody just wants more money. And like, did Tahad peddifer make more money from this? Like probably, probably good for him. I don't have an issue with that at all. But I like that both sides sat down and had a discussion on, all right, yeah, the money's, the money's important. That's good. But you know what's equally important? How can you showcase me? How can you showcase Tahad peddifer my skills and put me in a situation to succeed? And I think that's awesome. I think that's something where now they agreed. He signed, he's back. So therefore the assumption is the underlying assumption is they agreed on what that looks like as far as showcasing his ability. So Tahad and his camp have to say, yes, this is what I want to do. This, the things you're saying are the things that I think I'm best at. And also, I think Stephen and the staff know, all right, we've know our guys who are leaving and we know our guys who are staying and we've got new guys coming in. I now know what version of Tahad to build around. What version of Kevin Overton to build around? Simon Walker, Sebastian Williams Adams, Sway coming back. And I think that's important that that conversation happened over the last few days. All right. So you've got the Tahad peddifer coming back. You have Kevin Overton coming back. You have Sway coming back. And then you've got Narcisse, the French center coming in. Okay. Great. You've got your core. You've got your core. You've got probably four starters. And then you've got Simon Walker, I think if he's your seventh or eighth guy. Great. You got to feel good about all of that. You know, and obviously you lose Elijah Freeman. I personally would have preferred to have Sway. I know most people disagree that we were, we were splitting hairs. But when the reporting came out, I think it was Justin Hockinson that reported it, that he wanted like two and a half million. The Auburn staff didn't value him as that caliber of player. So, you know, best of luck to him. I think we'll get it. And then obviously, Philip Jovic leaving. So when you look at Sway returning, I think that shows, okay, we're expecting you to develop and take that massive step. We talked about this a lot with football, but same with basketball. Your big step from your, the biggest step you have in development, typically, there are always exceptions, but from your freshman year to your sophomore year. So that impacts Sway. I think it's reasonable to say that like you couldn't always assume that with Jovic or Freeman because those guys were older. I think the most guaranteed safest option from taking a step would be Sway because he's going from his freshman year to sophomore year. And also let's put Simon Walker in that conversation too. If Simon Walker can develop, get a little bit of size and develop as a defender. He's your seventh, eighth guy. Can kind of be that three and D wing for you. Great. Awesome. We'll see what happens with all of that. But there are a few names being mentioned. And I'm honestly okay with all of them. So let's take a stab at some of those in just a moment right here, unlocked on Auburn. Today's show brought to you by our friends at Fandall, the NBA playoffs are here where every possession matters, every matchup is magnified and every game can swing a series. Right now, Fandall is giving new customers a great way to get it on the action. You can bet just $5 and get $250 in bonus bets if your first bet wins. The app makes it easy to follow the actual player stats, trends and matchups all in one place. It just makes the entire playoff experience more engaging from start to finish. Head over to Fandall.com to get started. That is Fandall play your game. Today's show also brought to you by our friends at TurboTax. It's tax time, but for a lot of us, the old way of doing taxes is a lot. Trying to book an appointment that's not the most convenient, sitting in a waiting room with a stack of papers, emailing back and forth and wondering if they really get your situation. But this year, you're getting a major upgrade into a TurboTax now has in-person locations nationwide. You can meet face to face with a real tax expert and your documents get uploaded straight to your TurboTax app on the spot. Just like that, you're done. Your TurboTax expert works to get you every dollar you deserve while you get real-time notifications as you go by your day. Head to TurboTax.com. Local to find a store near you and book your appointment today. I got a few names for Steven Pearl. It sounds like he's pursuing a handful of these guys. Let's start with the one that I think most people are excited about. And, man, I don't even know how to attempt his last name. I don't even know. Mantis Rubisousius is what I'm going with. The Lithuanian wing, 6'6", and a guy who's playing, you know, pro ball in Lithuania right now. And it sounds like that's going pretty well. He's a forward is how it's being discussed with the reporting of him being pursued. But 6'6", pro experience. I think he's got a little bit more wiggle to him, a little bit more of athleticism to him than than Jovic. We'll see. It's like Jovic had a few inches on him. But regardless, Mantis seems to be. I mean, it seems like Auburn is the leader for him. So that'd be exciting. Looks like he's 23. So an older guy, bring an experience. Take that for what it's worth. Another name worth looking at, Jalen Shelley, is the next one. He's from Loyola, Marymouth. Jalen Shelley visiting Auburn this week in 6'8". He's a 6'8 wing and he was he was at USC before he went to Louisiana, Marymouth. Average, he averaged 13.7 points per game, 6.6 rebounds, two and a half persists, shot 45% from the floor. So not incredibly efficient, but did score for them. But you got to love this size, 6'8". So especially when like, I think Auburn's looking for a few guys that are can kind of do that three, three to four range. I think he could probably check that box. Also another name to look at, Tylan Riley, which if you recognize that name, he played for Tulsa. So Auburn played against them like what a week and a half ago in the NIT championship. I reached out to our friends at the Golden Hurrican. That's the Tulane podcast I did a crossover with. I'm like, hey, can you give me a scouting report on Tylan? He's visiting. What should I know about him? They kind of went somewhat in depth. So I'm just going to read all these for him. This is, once again, you know, this is about Tylan Riley from Tulsa. 6'3", 190". Junior from Vegas, very quick, great driver and finisher at the rim. Can stop and start on a dime, draws a lot of fouls, gets to the line a lot. Nails from the free throw line, 87% this season. Can be pretty turnover prone, makes some boneheaded mistakes every now and then. Though this season was his first season truly being the lead man running an offense. Wouldn't be surprised if he improved significantly next year. That's kind of an odd shooting motion, but it's effective, shot 38% from three on a good number of attempts this year. Good defender, sometimes the lead, he typically defended the other team's best guard and he handled that responsibility generally very well, plays hard and with a ton of fire and energy. So I'll take that. I'll take that. So that's the scouting report on Tylan Riley from Tulsa. So, yeah, a few names to keep in mind. So there you go. There you go. So we'll see, we'll see what happens. But big news to hot peddler for your guy going into the following season, which is, you know, I think that kind of says, all right, Steven Perl is going with this guy and, you know, we were going to, I mean, this is a big year for Steven. Like if he misses the tournament again, like I can't imagine the pressure that would be on him. So I mean, he's staking this onto hot peddler and KO and Sebastian Williams Adams. I think it makes sense. I think that's great as a core. So now you got to build around those guys. And I think, you know, all the guys that we just mentioned just now make sense. Seems like Auburn might potentially be getting some value with some of those guys from an NIL standpoint. Excited to see how all that plays out. And of course we will bring you with us every step of the way. So be sure to subscribe, whether it's on YouTube or on audio. Would love to have you be a part of our growing community. Please like the video. Please subscribe. We'll see you next time. This has been locked on Auburn. Introducing the all new Mazda CX5. Featuring more connection. Hey, Google, where's the nearest Pilates class? Safety that has your back. More discovery on the scenic routes. More passion in the details. And more control in changing weather. The all new Mazda CX5. More to move every side of you. See it in five films at mazdausa.com slash five sides. Google is a trademark of Google LLC. Sequences shortened and simulated. It's tax time. 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