Basketball couple eyes Big Sky

YAKIMA -- Anthony Johnson's mind was no doubt racing, going a mile a minute, when he left his hometown of Tacoma for Yakima Valley Community College.

He would be married soon, to Shaunte Nance. But even before that happened, in 2006, there would be classes to enroll in, books to hit and basketball to play.

Hoops, after all, was why Johnson was coming here. And in the back of his mind, filed behind the immediate demands on his time and his thoughts, was a dream.

One day, Johnson hoped to play Division I.

Now, two-plus years, hours of offseason workouts and a spectacular sophomore season later, the dream is real. Johnson will sign a letter of intent to continue his career at the University of Montana.

"It was definitely a dream," he said Wednesday, "even though it probably wasn't a realistic dream. I guess that's why it's called a dream in the first place."

Not only is the 6-foot-3 guard heading to college basketball's big-time, he had options. He chose the Grizzlies over Idaho, Boise State and UC Irvine.

"I made my visit there (to Missoula, Mont.) last weekend and loved it," Johnson said. "I loved the city, the people, the players -- pretty much everything."

Plus, his wife will play there, too. Shaunte Nance-Johnson came with Anthony to YVCC after spending a year at Northwest Nazarene. She played the 2006-07 season with the Yaks, helping them reach the NWAACC tournament semifinals, then served as the Riverside Christian girls coach this past winter.

"She also got offered a full ride," Johnson said, adding that he'll likely sign his letter and mail it today. He plans to major in business marketing.

Though a good prep player, Johnson was not heavily recruited out of Stadium High School. Nor was he necessarily considered DI material starting this past season.

But Johnson had followed the lead of YVCC assistant coach London Wilson, who himself had gone from the Yaks to the University of Nevada, engaging in rigorous offseason training.

Asked what part of Johnson's regimen had been most important, Wilson said, "Just the fact that he did it, that he got himself out of bed every morning and committed himself to the routine."

The result was dramatic. Johnson embarked on a season for the ages, one which prompted longtime Yakima Valley observers to compare him with the college's all-time greats.

En route to becoming the first Yak to receive a full-ride, DI scholarship since Quinton Hall of the Dean Nicholson-Leon Rice era went on to Gonzaga (1997-99), Johnson scored early and often.

Displaying an explosive first step and uncanny body control, he repeatedly slashed through opposing defenses to reach the rim for baskets, fouls or both. As the season progressed, he also markedly improved his perimeter shooting.

By March, when the NWAACC tournament convened in Kennewick, Johnson could not possibly have been a surprise to any of the other 15 teams. He had averaged more than 25 points a game and had been named the Eastern Region's Most Valuable Player.

Yet Johnson scored 25, 33, 38 and, in the title game against heavily-favored Spokane, 29 points in a 66-55 YVCC triumph.

Already pursued by Division II schools including Central Washington and Seattle University, Johnson suddenly became attractive to the next level.

"That team we had, we had some of the quirkiest kids," Johnson said. "It was the funniest bunch of guys, but we found a way to pull it all together and cap it off with a championship.

"And then to cut down that net, to have that experience was great. Speaking about it, I can't do it justice."

Nor would it be easy to summarize what Johnson had done for his college, his program and his coaches.

Head man Ray Funk, for example, can now approach a recruit and talk of how one of his recent players had blossomed while at YVCC, led his team to a championship and then was rewarded with a full Division I scholarship.

"I've used that line a lot already," said Funk.

Said Johnson, "Before this season, I'd never played on a winning team and I didn't have any Division I people beating my door down. But I learned a lot. I got my relationship with God right. Guys who come to the junior college level all have the dream, like me, but we're here for a reason. It might be work ethic, it might be grades or it might be not being as talented.

"In my situation it was grades, and that's been one of my biggest turnarounds. Being disciplined in the classroom allowed me to also have the discipline to get up and go run in the morning and lift weights and do all the things I needed to do."

Johnson said if he knew nothing else last summer, he was sure that no other NWAACC player was working as hard.

But he's an NWAACC player no longer -- nor is his wife.

Montana, here they come.

Roger Underwood can be reached at 577-7694 or runderwood@yakimaherald.com