This wasn’t the way Auburn’s basketball program wanted its Saturday night to go.

The night at the Under Armour Next Elite 24 boys’ basketball showcase in Atlanta was supposed to be about 5-star center Flory Bidunga. Had he picked Auburn, Bidunga would have been the highest-rated recruit in school history. Former Auburn players Isaac Okoro and Sharife Cooper were there along the sidelines to watch. And multiple recruiting websites logged “crystal ball” predictions in the final hours for the Indiana native to pick Auburn.

But the hat he pulled out of his Under Armour drawstring bag was a different shade of blue, and had a Kansas Jayhawks logo on the front.

Bidunga’s commitment came after the cancellation of the boys’ game during the first half due to an outdoor court that was never safely dried following an early-evening thunderstorm.

Multiple players slipped on the slick floor during the short-lived game but while they were on the floor, it was a different 5-star recruit who stole the show — and this one was already committed to Auburn.

Point guard Tahaad Pettiford is known nationally as a great athlete, and he didn’t take long to show it with pregame dunks. Nor did Pettiford hold anything back during the game, either.

Pettiford can shoot, too, making a shot from the mid-court logo during the pregame shoot-around.

During Saturday’s game — which was cut off before halftime due to the unsafe floor — Pettiford was the most exciting player on the floor. He started for his team coached by Indiana Pacers forward Jarace Walker.

But all weekend, Pettiford’s highlight reel continued to grow on social media, including plays he made when teamed up with Bidunga.

Pettiford tried to push Bidunga toward Auburn, albeit unsuccessfully both online and in person during Bidunga’s seemingly quiet but wild recruiting process.

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl has not been shy in his pursuit of Bidunga. Bidunga plays for Kokomo High School in Kokomo, Indiana, as well as the highly regarded Indiana Elite club team — and Pearl has traveled to Indiana to watch him play several times.

Of his final four schools, Auburn was in the earliest on Bidunga — the first of the four to offer Bidunga by months, according to 247Sports timeline. Michigan and Duke didn’t give Bidunga an offer until this summer when he began to gain serious national prominence.

On Friday, the day before the Atlanta event, most recruiting experts expected Bidunga to pick Duke.

But in the final hours, things changed.

Bidunga was largely expected to pick Duke. But the reclassification on Friday of 5-star big man Cooper Flagg — regarded by recruiting websites as a higher-rated prospect than Bidunga — from the class of 2025 to 2024 may have swung Bidunga, as Flagg is also expected to pick Duke when he makes his eventual commitment.

After news of Flagg’s reclassification broke, “crystal ball” predictions from recruiting experts on multiple recruiting websites began flooding in for Bidunga to choose Auburn.

But Bidunga chose Bill Self in Kansas in a decision that appeared as a surprise. Kansas offered Bidunga a scholarship in September, and he visited Lawrence in May before making his commitment Saturday.

Pettiford, who plays his high school ball for Hudson Catholic in Jersey City, New Jersey, committed to Auburn in February. Auburn offered Pettiford a scholarship last June and he came to The Plains for his official visit in September.

He ultimately picked Auburn over a list of finalists that included UConn, Kansas, Kentucky and UCLA.

Pettiford is ranked as the 19th overall player in the 247Sports composite ranking and the number two point guard.

He is Auburn’s second-highest-rated recruit ever — just behind Jabari Smith and just in front of guard Aden Holloway who is expected to be a key piece for Auburn this season.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]