Montana Grizzlies Sports, Football and Basketball : Grizzoulian

While it's not completely official, both Anthony Johnson and his wife Shaunte Nance-Johnson will be playing hoops for the University of Montana next year.

It's been a long trip to this level for both of them, especially for Anthony. At one point, he was completely out of organized basketball; then he met Shaunte. For their incredible story, read this article in the Tacoma Weekly.

At Stadium [High School], Johnson wasn’t much of a standout on the court or in the classroom. As a senior, he averaged just more than 12 points per game while the Tigers went 6-15 and finished in seventh place in the Narrows League Bay Division. Not exactly the kind of performance that gets you noticed at the next level.

On his report cards, things were even worse. Not showing up for class on a regular basis, Johnson saw his cumulative grade-point average during his time in high school come out as a 1.6. Needless to say, there weren’t a lot of opportunities awaiting him after graduation.

In 2005, though, while he was spending the year at home helping his mom and brother around the house, the most important event of his life happened. He started dating Nance. After that, things just started to change for him.

Not sure what he was doing or could do with his life, Nance was there as someone who believed in him. She pushed him to become better not only as a basketball player but as a person as well.

“She noticed something in me,” Johnson said. “She figured in her mind that I could play college basketball while at the time I was ready to give it up.”

Nance, then playing basketball on a full-ride scholarship to Northwest Nazarene University (NNU), watched Johnson play at the YMCA and knew that his time on the hardwood wasn’t over.

“He had an amazing shot, it was something I envied,” Nance said. “His dedication to the game was a big thing. I knew once he put his mind to it, the sky was the limit for him.”

And it was. Anthony was further motivated by his freshman season at Yakima Valley Community College—Shaunte got him a tryout there— where he averaged 18.3 points per game on 57.6 percent shooting. The next season, he was NWAAC east region MVP as he led his 7-man team to a conference title.

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Next season, the Griz will look to play a more up-tempo, quicker offense. With that goal in mind, they're tailoring their recruiting accordingly. One player they're targeting: Anthony Johnson of Yakima Valley Community College. He was in Missoula today visiting campus.

Here's a little information on Johnson, who was East Region MVP of the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges.

"He's a scorer," Funk (his coach) said. "He can get to the basket and the free throw line, but he's also got a canny mid-range pull-up shot that you don't see much anymore. And the knock on him all year was that he had no three-point shot, but he was 7-for-14 from three in the (NWAACC) tournament. He's really quick, long-armed, and a great on-the-ball defender too."

Over the course of the season, Johnson saw his recruitment steadily rise and now a number of schools all throughout the Pacific Northwest are looking at taking the next step.

"Anthony is getting looked at by a lot of Division I schools right now," Funk said. "Montana is coming in to see him tomorrow and Eastern Washington and Portland State have been recruiting him and would like him to visit. Idaho and Weber State also came to see him play this year and I've talked to one of the Boise State coaches about him."

Funk also noted that many of the schools in the Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference have been recruiting Johnson all season long. The high-scoring guard is considering all options and is essentially looking at taking as many official visits as he can before making an educated choice.

"I think he's basically looking for that best fit," Funk said. "It's everything from academics to the level of play to the playing time situation to what his role would be on the team to the chance to get to the (NCAA) Tournament. He's married, so he's got his wife to consider as well."

Wow. He has to figure out if Montana is the right fit from him, but based on his skill-set, he's the perfect fit for Montana: quick, athletic guard who can get to the rim but still keep defenders honest with a dangerous mid-range jumper. Although he showed he's capable of making a 3-point shot, it's great to know that is not something he depends on. With a player like this—combined with the additions of Selvig, McGillis, Taylor, Stockton and Ward—it's very likely the Griz will have the most talent in the 'Sky. As we know, talent is not everything, but when you get versatile talent like this, it goes a long way.

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