SAN ANTONIO — One of Tahaad Pettiford’s earliest basketball memories came in the third grade.

He was a kid playing in an open gym against others much older than him. 

“Getting my shot punched,” the Auburn freshman recalled with a laugh. “I couldn’t really do much, but they wanted to get me out there, help me and prepare me.” 

That was his introduction to the sport. Pettiford frequently followed his older cousin, Chris Miller, to different courts in Jersey City.