Add another one to Tony Barbee’s first signing class.

Tuesday morning, Shaw (Columbus, Ga.) High point guard Chris Denson inked with the Tigers, according to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.

Denson, at 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, averaged 27 points per game as a senior, while racking up six assists, five rebounds and three steals per game, according to AuburnSports.com.

Three players have now signed on to play under Barbee in his first year on the Plains — Denson, swingman Josh Langford and forward Luke Cothron.
Langford, at 6-7, 203, out of Lee High School in Huntsville, was rated the top recruit in the state after finishing his senior season averaging 22 points and 13 rebounds per game.

Cothron, at 6-foot-9 and 218 pounds, averaged 31 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks per game as a senior last year for Flora Macdonald Academy in Red Springs, N.C. 

In a recent interview with the Opelika-Auburn News, Barbee talked about his recruiting philosophy, going after the best players, near and far.

“Auburn is a program that should be recruiting nationally, but there are good enough players in our backyard and in the Southeast to build a national program every year,“ Barbee said. “Because of the contacts I have and my staff has, we’ll be able to reach out on a national and even international basis.”

Denson, according to AuburnSports.com, had offers from Northeastern, Rutgers, Buffalo and UNC-Greensboro. He was receiving heavy interest from Florida, UConn, Western Kentucky and UCLA, according to the website.

Barbee now has seven fresh faces in the 2010 class, as the three he just signed join JUCO transfer forward Adrian Forbes, forward Heath Houston, forward Allen Payne and center Shawn Kemp, Jr., all of whom signed under Jeff Lebo.