Midseason Wooden List: Kenny Boynton and 5 Snubs

The John R. Wooden Midseason List was announced recently and—as with every list of its type—some noteworthy players were not included.

Florida's Kenny Boynton is one such player. The 14-4 Gators are led by Boynton's shooting and scoring ability, but 25 players made the cut over him.

Fortunately for Boynton and the rest of the snubs, missing the cut doesn't exclude them from Player of the Year contention.

For now though, here's a look at Boynton and four others who should have made the Midseason Wooden List.

5. J'Covan Brown, Jr., Texas

Graduations and the 2011 NBA Draft gutted Texas' roster, so J'Covan Brown—who averaged just 21.5 minutes per game last year—was asked to lead the inexperienced Longhorns.

So far, he's done a pretty good job, keeping Rick Barnes' youthful team afloat with a 12-6 record.

Brown, a 38.1 percent three-point shooter, is averaging 19.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Although he has disappeared in about four games, he has also poured in over 30 points twice and over 20 nine times.

4. Isaiah Canaan, Jr., Murray State

Murray State is undefeated, having won its first 19 games. Without Isaiah Canaan, however, the Racers would be just another Ohio Valley team.

The junior leads the team in scoring (18.6 ppg) and assists (four apg) and his 47.1 percent three-point shooting has helped the Racers to the nation's fifth-best long range percentage.

Though he struggled from the floor against Memphis—he still scored 15 points—Canaan averaged 26 points and shot 57.7 percent from deep in games against San Francisco, Southern Mississippi and Dayton.

He's the unquestionable front-runner for OVC Player of the Year, but he deserves more—at least a spot on the Midseason Wooden List.

3. Kenny Boynton, Jr., Florida

Kenny Boynton's 66 treys lead the nation and only seven players who have buried 50-plus threes have done so at a better clip than the junior's 45.8 percent.

A shooter and a scorer, Boynton leads Florida with 18.7 points per night and also dishes 3.1 dimes as Erving Walker's backcourt mate. He has been incredibly consistent too, scoring fewer than 13 points just once.

Additionally, Boynton is a solid defender—though his numbers don't do him justice—so his 0.8 steals per game shouldn't be held against him.

2. John Shurna, Sr., Northwestern

Once again, John Shurna is doing all he can to lead Northwestern to its first NCAA tournament appearance.

He's one of the most complete players in college basketball, evidenced by his numbers on both ends of the floor. The senior is averaging 19.1 points per game on 45-percent shooting from the floor and 42.1 percent from deep; he also grabs 6.1 boards, dishes 2.8 assists, swats 1.7 shots and records one steal per night.

Though all the nominees are qualified, a consummate player like Shurna could definitely feel snubbed.

1. Jae Crowder, Sr., Marquette

Despite being Marquette's No. 2 scorer, Jae Crowder is arguably the Golden Eagles' most valuable player—ahead of Midseason Wooden List nominee Darius Johnson-Odom. 

The senior, like John Shurna, is a complete player and has game-winners against Norfolk State and Washington under his belt. He averages 16.2 points per game on 50.7 percent field goal shooting and 37.9 percent long range shooting and he grabs 7.4 boards, gets 2.2 steals and blocks one shot each night.

With Johnson-Odom's sometimes erratic shooting, Marquette needs a stabilizer like Crowder. Otherwise, the 15-4 Golden Eagles would be in peril on Johnson-Odom's poor shooting nights.