Film Room: Denver Jones is heating up at just the right time for Auburn
Against Mississippi State, the transfer shooting guard showcased what makes him such an important weapon on both ends of the floor.
SG Denver Jones (Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)
When Auburn landed Denver Jones out of the transfer portal last April, it knew it was getting one of the single-best scorers in all of college basketball.
During his second season at FIU, Jones averaged more than 20 points per game — one of only 26 players to do so in Division I — while shooting 47.8% from the floor, 84.5% from the free-throw line and 37.1% from 3-point range.
Jones had to pretty much put the team on his back at FIU, as he averaged 14 shots per game and played more than 33 minutes per night. That was never going to be the case at Auburn, where Bruce Pearl gets his players to buy into an extremely deep and incredibly balanced style of offense.
And, perhaps more importantly, Pearl’s system demands players sell out to play a challenging defensive system.
“He gets in the transfer portal to try to go to the high-major level and is asked to be a real important piece on a really good deep roster, where now you’re gonna be playing 20 minutes a game or so, maybe 20 to 24, whatever, versus 32 or 34 minutes a game,” Pearl said in January. “Not shooting it every time and having every play call designed for you.
“The one area where Denver definitely needed to improve on was his defense. He had to rest a little better on the defensive end to be able to have enough energy to score to give (FIU) a chance to win every night. Where now he can’t — we’re not having him take possessions off. He’s not taking possessions off. He’s sitting down and guarding point guards and some of the best guards in the country every night.”
Since the start of the season, Jones has usually drawn the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top guard. It’s a massive challenge, especially in the SEC, but Jones has handled it quite well for a defense that currently ranks No. 1 nationally in effective field goal percentage (44.1%) and No. 18 in points allowed per possession (0.941).
“During the summer, it was a work in progress to get used to the style of defense that we play,” Jones said earlier this season. “But I take pride in not letting my man score, and I told BP I wanted to be one of the best two-way players in the league. To do that, I have to shut down my man every night. That's something I really take pride in.”
There’s also been a difference in Jones’ offensive game in his time at Auburn. That dedication to defense and the team’s overall balance has meant that Jones is now only taking 6.1 shots per game and 2.7 3-pointers per game — well under his averages at FIU.
But Pearl and the Tigers believed that the big offensive breakout was coming.
“Denver Jones only made the one shot but continues to really be a factor defensively,” Pearl said after Auburn’s road win at Vanderbilt on Jan. 17. “When he starts to unlock a little bit on the offensive end, and he’s going to, we’re going to be really, really good.”
Fast-forward to March, when the Tigers opened the most important month of the season with a bounce-back 15-point win over a tough Mississippi State team. Jones scored 15 points, which included a 3-5 performance from 3-point range.
And he also did a great job handling Mississippi State freshman phenom Josh Hubbard, who entered the game having posted back-to-back 30-point outings.
“I thought Denver Jones was terrific tonight,” Pearl said. “His defense… Hubbard got loose a couple times, but Denver Jones guarded tonight. He made plays.”
Over the last five games, Jones has been one of the most efficient weapons in all of college basketball. His true shooting percentage is 63.5%, which ranks inside the 96th percentile nationally.
He’s hit exactly 50% of his 3-pointers, which has been a key part in the Tigers leading the nation in that category over the last five games. When he has gotten to the free-throw line, he’s knocked down 92.3% of his attempts from there.
“It’s like BP said, this is the time to get hot,” Jones said recently. “I feel like this will be the time where everybody feels confidence in their shots, and I feel like this is the time where we start making our shots.”
In this week’s Film Room, let’s take a closer look at what made Jones so effective on both ends of the floor in Auburn’s important home win over Mississippi State.