Denver Jones injury update: Auburn guard's status vs. Texas A&M revealed

Auburn has the SEC regular season title wrapped up but Bruce Pearl will be the first to tell you there is still plenty to play for. Pearl wants to make sure his team is playing well as the postseason begins and being at full strength plays a role. Unfortunately, Denver Jones is not going to be at 100% in the immediate future.

Jones suffered an injury in Saturday’s win against Kentucky, only playing in eight minutes. His status for a big-time clash against Texas A&M has been revealed, listed as questionable per the SEC availability report.

A lot of storylines came out of the victory in Rupp Arena but the Jones injury certainly was one of them. Pearl gave an update immediately after with positive news. The initial concern was a big one from the head coach but Auburn appears to have caught a break.

“Good news, it was X-rayed, bone bruise, so he’s going to recover from it,” Pearl said postgame. “But he’s a tough kid. I was worried he had a bone break or something.”

Not many players have been as important to Auburn as Jones this season. He plays the third most minutes of anybody on the roster, averaging 10.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. A three-point percentage of 43.1% leads the Tigers for those who consistently shoot them.

Jones is hoping he can play against Texas A&M but for now, is designated as questionable.

Paul Finebaum evaluates Bruce Pearl among all-time Auburn coaches

Bruce Pearl has cemented himself as one of, if not the greatest Auburn basketball coach of all time. He now has the most wins in program history, took the Tigers to its first Final Four in 2019, and has his team in position to be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament this season.

Joining Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic on their morning radio show, Paul Finebaum revealed where the Tigers men’s basketball coach stands against the all-time Auburn greats in all sports, including its storied football program.

“I think you’d be hard-pressed to find very many,” Finebaum said. “I mean, certainly Pat Dye and [Ralph] Shug Jordan are always at the top of the list. But, I think they would all be — I mean, if Mount Rushmore has four people on it, I think there’s room for Bruce Pearl on Auburn’s Mount Rushmore.”

On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this report