AUBURN — Auburn basketball’s two newest additions grew up about 140 miles from each other, and the similarities between the duo are evident.
Florida International transfer Denver Jones, who committed to coach Bruce Pearl and the Tigers on April 8, is a native of New Market. Chaney Johnson, a transfer from Alabama-Huntsville who signed with Auburn last week, originally hails from Alabaster.
“They’re Alabama kids that were both overlooked, and both got chips on their shoulders,” Pearl said at an AMBUSH event Tuesday in Atlanta. “They’re both hungry. They both dreamed of someday being at a place like Auburn, and now it’s a reality for them. I’m just so excited about coaching guys who are going to be in the gym every night, who are grateful for the scholarship and for the opportunity.”
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Jones was one of 26 players in Division I to score over 20 points per game last season, as the 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard averaged 20.1 on 47.8% shooting. He shot 37.1% from beyond the 3-point arc, made 84.5% of his free throws and averaged 1.8 rebounds per game to go along with two assists and 1.8 steals.
Unranked by the 247Sports Composite out of high school, Jones played one season at Garden City Community College in Kansas, where he posted at least 20 points eight times and scored in double figures in 16 of the 17 games he appeared in.
At FIU last season, Jones scored 20 or more on 17 occasions.
“Denver is from the same league (Conference USA) as Florida Atlantic,” Pearl said. “He was the leading scorer in that league, and that’s a really good league.”
Johnson’s story is similar in some ways, yet also unique. Also unranked coming out of high school, Johnson stood 6-2 and elected to attend Division II UAH for three seasons. During his time with the Chargers, he grew five inches and put his guard-oriented skillset to good use with his newfound height; he started all 35 games in 2022-23, averaging 15.9 points on 51.8% shooting.
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He only connected on 28.9% of his 3-pointers last season, but is a career 37.2% shooter from long range.
Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl talks with his team during a timeout as Auburn Tigers take on Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala., on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. Texas A&M Aggies defeated Auburn Tigers 79-63.
“All of a sudden, he’s 6-7 and now he’s pretty good, really athletic,” Pearl said. “(He) has always been overlooked. We’ve got a few guys on our roster that have been overlooked.”
Despite being listed as a guard on Auburn’s official website, Pearl said he expects Johnson to compete for minutes at the small forward and power forward spots. Johnson served as UAH’s power forward against the Tigers in an exhibition before last season. He dropped 14 points.
“He’s big enough to play a little bit of an undersized 4,” Pearl said. “… Look, he played against us last year when we played them and he played our 4-man even. And I think he’s quick enough, and he’s got enough skill, that he could play some on the wing, so he’ll play.”
Pearl, who expects to add “one, maybe two more” transfers before the offseason is over, said he’d be shocked if Auburn used all 13 of its scholarships for next season.
“The landscape has changed tremendously,” Pearl said of the amount of roster turnover Auburn is experiencing. “It’s changed for everybody. We’re all in the same boat. … But the transfer thing swings both ways. … We’re just going to bring in really good guys that we think can help us continue to be competitive.
“It just forces us to work a little differently.”
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball’s Bruce Pearl on transfers Denver Jones, Chaney Johnson
