This is an opinion column.
_____________________
It happens every March. These ides were no different.
Each year around this time I find myself falling in love with the college basketball hustle players grinding it out during the conference tournaments.
On Friday it was Denver Jones of the Auburn Tigers.
Teams need stars to emerge in March, but it’s the glue guys like Jones who help make that happen.
A sequence of plays by Jones at the end of the first half against South Carolina let everyone know what kind of SEC tournament this is going to be for coach Bruce Pearl’s loaded team. Auburn slack-jawed South Carolina 86-55 and the victory set up a semifinal matchup with ninth-seeded Mississippi State at noon on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena. Everyone played with a brawler’s intensity, but it was Jones who delivered the combination of brilliance when it mattered most.
Most Popular Stories by Joseph Goodman
Jones forced three turnovers on consecutive possessions across the span of little more than a minute. It went like this: turnover by charge in man-to-man, turnover by steal in half-court defense and, finally, turnover by steal in the open court. When the skirmish was over, Auburn had a 21-point lead with 7.9 seconds left in the first half and the game was effectively over.
The bracket here at the SEC tournament opened up for Auburn and Alabama when Tennessee and Kentucky crashed and burned on Friday afternoon. Auburn ran over South Carolina and Alabama was run out of the building by Florida, losing 102-88. The difference in the two teams at this point in the season is striking.
Auburn’s signature toughness appears to be built for March and Alabama is searching for a defensive identity before the NCAA Tournament.
The reason for Auburn’s success can be found in the details. Players like Jones, a transfer from FIU, are doing the little things on the defensive end that impact games.
Auburn can win in a lot of different ways. In their opening turn on the hardwood at Bridgestone Arena, the Tigers wrecked South Carolina with the required energy for March basketball and that’s all that mattered.
South Carolina made its fourth field goal of the game with 4:59 left in the first half. By that point, Auburn had a 30-18 lead that felt more like a 25-point advantage. When Jones went to work it was over.
Later in the night, Alabama needed a catalyst defensively near the end of its first half against Florida. No one played the role and Florida closed out the Crimson Tide with 19 straight points. The lack of fight affected Alabama’s offense, too. I never would have predicted an Alabama team coached by Nate Oats going 0-4 from the free-throw line in a tournament game, but it happened in Nashville.
RELATED: Alabama extends Oats for the third time
Oats rebuilt his roster and coaching staff after last season’s SEC championship. Auburn’s Pearl filled in a few pieces for an experienced team and he found gold in players like Jones and Chad Baker-Mazara.
Jones’ commitment to defense allowed him to break into the starting lineup on a deep team. That speaks to Pearl’s ability as a coach. Last March, Pearl’s team went out of the NCAA Tournament with a loss to Houston, one of the toughest teams in the country. This season, Auburn’s defensive DNA feels a lot like that Cougars’ squad from 2023.
I enjoyed my interview with Jones after the game. He’s from New Market, Ala., which is a few miles from the Tennessee border and just south of the Cumberland Plateau. It’s a beautiful part of the state.
Why is Jones named after the largest city in Colorado? That’s an interesting story.
His older brother is named Dallas after the NFL team in that city. When it was time for Dallas’ younger brother to come into the world, an uncle suggested the name Denver. It stuck.
“But I grew up a Cowboys fan, too,” Jones said.
Jones committed to Auburn after an excellent season with FIU. He averaged more than 20 points per game for the Golden Panthers, but he’s a defensive specialist for Auburn. That’s what it takes to win in March.
“We’re built a little differently,” Pearl said.
SOUND OFF
Got a question about the changing landscape of college football, spring practice in the SEC or March Madness? Want to get something off your chest? Send Joe a question about what’s on your mind for the weekly mailbag. Let your voice be heard. Ask him anything.
Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the most controversial sports book ever written, “We Want Bama”.