Denver Jones couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing.

He knew his 20.1 points per game while at Florida International drew some interest once he entered the transfer portal, but when he picked up his ringing cell phone to hear Auburn assistant coach Steven Pearl’s voice on the other end, he was still in a little bit of shock.

“Hey, it’s Steven Pearl from Auburn,” Jones heard on the opposite end of the phone.

“Oh s***, really?” Jones responded

“Yeah dude, this is where you’re at now,” Pearl told him. “This is the level you’re about to be recruited on.”

Two year later, and Jones is Auburn’s starting point guard as the Tigers prepare for their second Final Four in school history. And for Auburn to advance toward the ultimate prize, there’s arguably no more important player than the former FIU star.

Not only is he Auburn’s primary point guard and facilitator, but he’s also the Tigers top perimeter defender who’s often assigned to the opponent’s toughest cover. On Saturday, that task is Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., arguably the best guard in the country and someone who put 19 points and nine assists on Auburn en route to a win inside Neville Arena back in February.

“He just got the ultimate green light and was shooting it from anywhere,” Jones said. “When he’s feeling comfortable, we just need to make him feel uncomfortable.”

Once Jones got the call from Steven Pearl and later met with head coach Bruce Pearl, it was going to be hard for any other school to steer him away from Auburn. As an Alabama native, going to one of the big schools in-state meant something to Jones and Auburn reaching out first seemed to mean something extra, according to Steven Pearl.

The interest in Auburn was already there for Jones after his junior college season at Garden City Community College, but the interest wasn’t mutual yet.

That led Jones to FIU, a place where he’d spend two seasons and eventually garner interest from high-major schools from across the country by the time he entered the transfer portal following the 2022-2023 season.

While Auburn was high on Jones, his role on the Plains was going to be a little different.

Jones’ field goal attempts per game were cut in half from his final season at FIU to his first season at Auburn, with his role beginning to change. He went from being the primary offensive option and playing over 30 minutes per game to playing just over 20 minutes per game on a team that prided itself on balance.

However, his new role at Auburn opened up a different part of his game.

If you ask Jones, he’ll tell you that he’s always been able to defend. It wasn’t his primary job at FIU, but he was always capable. At Auburn, though, his defensive ability took off.

“That was one of the main reasons why I came here, was expand my game more,” Jones said. “Just because everybody knew I could score, but a lot of people was questioning my defense a lot.”

At FIU, he operated in somewhat of a two-point guard backcourt, where he played primarily off the ball and his main focus was on scoring.

His backcourt partner was now Oklahoma State point guard Arturo Dean, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound perimeter defender that was a nightmare for opposing guards. Dean led Conference USA in steals during the season he and Jones played together, taking some of the pressure off Jones defensively.

During Auburn’s 2024-2025 run, Jones has become the point guard who gets tasked with the tough defensive assignments. Unlike Dean, though, he plays the role without having the same kind of eye-popping numbers.

Jones has averaged less than a steal per game in each of his two seasons at Auburn, but his effectiveness becomes evident when looking at how the players he personally matched up with have fared.

Here’s how a few notable guards fared when matched up against Jones this season:

• Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State: Six points, 3-for-9 from the field
• Braden Smith, Purdue: Eight points, 3-for-12 from the field, five turnovers
• Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State: 17 points, 2-for-12 from the field
• Mark Sears, Alabama (Game 1): 18 points, 4-for-17 from the field
• Mark Sears, Alabama (Game 2): Nine points, 3-for-9 from the field
• Tre Donaldson, Michigan: Five points, 2-for-9 from the field, four turnovers

His defensive style isn’t overaggressive. He doesn’t always try to bait players or take too many risks, but what Jones does is effective.

Steven Pearl, Auburn’s defensive coordinator, attributed a lot of that effectiveness to effort.

“He’s relentless when he’s on the ball,” Pearl said. “He’s so physical that he’s able to obviously keep guys in front. And if guys run into him, they’re going to bounce right off him, because he’s a big guard, and the fact that he’s able to move his feet and guard quicker guards is obviously something that separates him.”

Miles Kelly described Jones as a “solid defender” pointing out how he doesn’t reach or foul much when he’s guarding someone.

“Those are some of the toughest defenders… people who just keep you in front and stay solid the whole time,” Kelly said. “He doesn’t have to foul a lot, and he just eats you up.”

Just because Jones’ is known primarily as a defender now doesn’t mean he forgot how to score. He’s averaging 10.9 points per game this season and is the team’s most efficient 3-point shooter at 41.8%.

Jones scored 20 against Michigan in the Sweet 16, helping ignite a 20-2 run in the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers. He’s averaging 12.8 points per game in the NCAA tournament, doing so while shooting 44% from long range.

As Auburn prepares to face Florida, Jones’ play might be more important than ever. He had one of his worst games of the season in Auburn’s regular season loss to the Gators, scoring two points and turning the ball over three times while allowing his matchup to have 19 points and nine assists.

Florida’s backcourt is one of the best in the country, led by Clayton. Jones hasn’t shied away from the big matchups this season and for Auburn to clinch a spot in the national championship, the Tigers may need his best effort yet.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at prauterkus@al.com