As Auburn men’s basketball prepares for the upcoming season, Denver Jones is poised to take on a new role for the Tigers. The junior from New Market, Ala. is transitioning to the point guard position, a role he played during his first season at Garden City Community College.
"It's been great," Jones said. "I played a little bit of point guard my first year in college, so it feels very interesting going back and also transitioning back to my point guard skills. But it's been really fun."
Before transferring to Auburn, Jones averaged 19.1 points per game and shot 40% from beyond-the-arc in junior college and averaged 20.0 PPG and 3.8 rebounds per game at Florida International University.
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said that he sees Jones transitioning to more of a combination guard role, playing both the point guard and other positions this season. Putting Jones at point guard will allow him more opportunities to have the ball in his hands, giving him the opportunity to make more decisions, score and get downhill more frequently.
"We talked about it this spring. It was something that he wanted to do. It was something that I thought would be good for him and for us,” Pearl said of Jones transiting to the one slot.
“When you play point guard, the ball is in your hand. I don't have to do anything to get him the ball,” Pearl said. “And I think Denver makes good decisions with the ball. He can score, he can get downhill, he can make tough twos. He's unselfish, and I think it's really good for us, and I think it's gonna be good for his future development.”
In his 2023-24 campaign, Jones averaged 9.1 PPG and was the Tigers’ fourth-leading scorer. He led the team with a 41.8% accuracy from beyond-the-arc, making 51 threes on 122 attempts.
Jones has shared time at the point guard position with Furman transfer JP Pegues who was rated the No. 41 overall transfer and No. 11 point guard by 247 Sports. Pegues was Furman’s leading scorer, averaging 18.4 PPG along with 4.3 RPG and 4.8 assists per game during his junior season.
“(Pegues) brings a lot of experience,” Jones said. “I learned a lot of things just from watching the experienced point guard play and trying to implement it in my game. JP is a very great point guard.”
Pegues’s experience at point guard has been a valuable learning tool for Jones who continues to learn and grow in his new role.
“He brought in stability. I feel like he came in since day one and has been able to learn the offense very well,” Jones said of Pegues. “I know, coming from Furman and then coming here and learning the Bruce Pearl offense and being a point guard, that's a major role, and I feel like he did a great job.”
Pearl will enjoy a roster full of veterans — whether that be returners or transfers — and looks to rely on depth at all positions on the court, whether that be point guard or center.
“Our greatest strength is going to be our depth,” Pearl said. “We're going to play 10 guys in double digit minutes, and when we go to our bench, we're not going to drop off.”
Whether it be Jones at point guard or shooting guard, the junior looks to have a big impact on the court this season.
“I feel like everything will take care of itself,” Jones said of his point production this upcoming season. “Me playing point this year obviously is a bigger role, especially running this Auburn offense, and honestly, I just want to win.”
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Grace Heim is a senior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in Political Science. She started with The Plainsman in January of 2023.
You can follow her on X (Twitter) at @graceeheim
