National News

 July 2, 2012

Three former NJCAA student-athletes were selected in Thursday’s 2012 NBA Draft. Forwards Bernard James (Tallahassee Community College, Fla.) and Jae Crowder (South Georgia Technical College/Howard College, Texas) joined guard Darius Johnson-Odom (Hutchinson Community College, Kan.) as second-round picks in the draft. James and Crowder will both start their professional careers with the Dallas Mavericks, while Johnson-Odom dons the purple and gold of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Former Tallahassee CC forward Bernard James (right) was selected with the 33rd-overall pick in the draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers and was later traded to the Dallas Mavericks. As a Tallahassee Eagle, James was the school’s second all-time leader in field-goal percentage (.624), rebounds (512) and blocked shots (131). James was named Panhandle Conference Freshman of the Year in 2009 and was a two-time first team All-Panhandle Conference selection. James continued to succeed at Florida State, where he ranked second all-time in field-goal percentage (.627) and third in blocked shots (164). In 2011-12, James earned All-ACC Defensive Team honors and anchored a Seminoles squad that claimed the school’s first ever ACC Championship. At the age of 17, James enlisted into the United States Air Force where he served for six years before enrolling at Tallahassee.

Another piece of the Cavaliers-Mavericks trade was forward Jae Crowder from South Georgia Tech and Howard College. Taken by the Cavaliers with the 34th-overall pick in the draft, Crowder joined James in being traded to Dallas. As a freshman at South Georgia Tech, Crowder played an integral role in the Jets’ first ever national tournament appearance. Crowder moved on to Howard where was named 2009-10 NJCAA DI Player of the Year after leading the Hawks to their first national championship. Crowder advanced to Marquette where he was a second team All-American and Big East Player of the Year in 2011-12.

With the 55th-overall pick, the Dallas Mavericks drafted former Hutchinson guard Darius Johnson-Odom and later traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers. In his lone season at Hutchinson, Johnson-Odom averaged 21.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and was a NJCAA first team All-American. Playing alongside Crowder at Marquette, Johnson-Odom earned first team All-Big East honors in 2011-12 and was an honorable mention All-American.


FORMER NJCAA PLAYERS SELECTED IN 2012 NBA DRAFT

Rnd. (Pick)	Player	Team	NCAA School	NJCAA School
2 (33)	Bernard James	Dallas Mavericks (from Cleveland)	Florida State	Tallahassee CC, Fla. ('08-10)
2 (34)	Jae Crowder	Dallas Mavericks (from Cleveland)	Marquette	South Georgia Tech ('08-09) Howard College, Texas ('09-10)
2 (55)	Darius Johnson-Odom	L.A. Lakers (from Dallas)	Marquette	Hutchinson CC, Kan. ('08-09)