Despite having only been a part of the Auburn basketball program for less than a week, SMU transfer forward Ja’Heim Hudson has already earned himself a nickname in the Tigers’ locker room.

Hudson goes by the name “Turtle,” Auburn head basketball coach Bruce Pearl revealed Monday during a brief meeting with the media ahead of his Fore The Children Golf Classic at Alexander City’s Willow Point Golf & Country Club.

“He’s got a little head that sits on top his shoulders — he’s got these big shoulders,” Pearl said. “I like those guys. Guys that are 6-7 with short heads, they’re actually 6-8 or 6-9. It’s those 6-9 guys with the big hair, long necks and the big head, they’re actually 6-7.”

Hudson, with his “little head that sits on top his shoulders,” is listed to be 6-foot-7 and committed to Auburn as a transfer out of SMU on May 17.

Last season was Hudson’s first and only with the Mustangs as he first started his career with two seasons at Georgia State.

In his sophomore season at Georgia State, Hudson was good for an average of 10.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game — which included an eight-point, 11-rebound effort at Auburn on Dec. 14, 2022 in a game the Tigers won 72-64.

At SMU, Hudson averaged 5.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.

Hudson having two previous stops under his belt meant Pearl and Auburn’s coaching staff were able to do plenty of research before bringing in Georgia-bred forward.

The reports were favorable.

“The last three coaches he played for said, ‘He was my favorite. One of my favorite student athletes,’” Pearl said. “‘One of my favorite teammates, one of my favorite kids. Hard worker.’”

And while all of those traits are undoubtedly important, Pearl said he was really looking for the perfect piece to compliment Auburn’s pre-existing frontline, which is set to return a trio of veterans in Johni Broome, Dylan Cardwell and Chaney Johnson next season.

“Those are three seniors that are good, that are going to play,” Pearl said. “And I wanted to bring in somebody that wasn’t afraid to compete with them but that wasn’t going to feel like they were entitled. Turtle knows he’s going to play every night. What kind of role is he going to play? That’s going to be up to those four.”

With former Auburn forward Jaylin Williams out of eligibility, the Tigers will be pressed to replace his production next season. Williams, Auburn’s all-time winningest player in program history, averaged 12.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 2023-24.

When Williams went down with a knee injury last season and missed a handful of games, Pearl turned to Johnson, who is expected to make a leap as the former Alabama-Huntsville transfer enters year No. 2 with the Tigers’ program.

However, whether it be Johnson or Hudson who steps into the shoes previously filled by Williams, if Auburn learned anything last year, it’s that having depth can carry a team a long ways.

And in Hudson, whether he ends up being a piece of Auburn’s main rotation or a depth piece, what matters it the piece fits well with the program.

“It’s just sort of the right fit and I’m really excited about what he brings. He brings some toughness to us. He can get downhill. He can shoot the 3-ball a little bit,” Pearl said.