Five Players From the Jimmy V Classic To Watch This Season

Darius Johnson-Odom

Johnson-Odom has averaged at least 13 points in every season, including '09-'10, when he came off the bench for half the season. Each year his scoring has increased, and so far he's hovering right around 20 per game this season. His cross is dirty, he has experience making posters, and he's got ice in his veins. Did we mention he helped lead a 14-loss team to the Sweet 16 last year? When a dude is getting shoutouts from people like Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant, and John Wall on Twitter, you know he's a guy everybody should be watching. 

Mizzou might have a new coach, and his team might play defense in a slightly different manner, but this is still the same Marcus Denmon, a quick-firing outside shooter who can score at will.  As somebody who takes 13.3 shots per game, he is still a Top 15 scorer in the nation, partly because he has started the season making one of every two three-point shots. In his final year as a Tiger, the All-Big 12 guard is leading a Mizzou squad that has shot out of the gate to 8-0 and seems more disciplined and focused than the previous season. On one of the biggest stages in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden, Denmon lit up Villanova for 28 points, a follow-up to his 31-point show against Northwestern State. Playing for a Top 10 team in the country, it would be hard to lose track of this guy. 

Terrence Ross

Jae Crowder 

Marquette was down one, Crowder swung around a low screen, popped up in the bottom right corner,  and drained a game-winning three-ball to keep the Golden Eagles undefeated. Moments after Washington missed their chance, teammates draped on his shoulders, Crowder gave the crowd a stare down as if to say, "Yeah, we're the real deal. We aren't goin' anywhere." Crowder might be a senior, but this is only his second year on Marquette. After leading Howard College to its first ever NJCAA title in '09-'10, he used his NJCAA Player of the Year award to transfer to D-I. Though many have attributed Marquette's success to simple toughness, Crowder and his teammate Johnson-Odom are undeniably two of the most talented players in the country. He's improved every aspect of his game, and can shoot over about anybody on the perimeter standing at 6'6".

Maalik Wayns