Why now?
Let's just say a unique set of circumstances paved the way for Shaunte Nance-Johnson to sign a national letter of intent for 2008-09. The 5-foot-5 point guard is the wife of Anthony Johnson, a 6-3 guard from Yakima Valley Community College that recently signed with the Grizzly men's basketball team.
The Lady Griz weren't actively looking for a recruit. But Nance-Johnson will bolster a thin junior class and has the potential to immediately help fill a void left left by scrappy senior guard Laura Cote.
“(Nance-Johnson) takes great pride in her defense,” said Selvig, who had a scholarship available after Betsy Snead left his program in November. “Her junior college coach talked about how she really likes to get after you.
“She brings speed and quickness to a position where we're not very deep. She also looks like a real intelligent player and a good leader.”
A devout Christian who married in 2006, Nance-Johnson considers Montana's scholarship offers to she and her husband the answer to her prayers.
“We told each other that we wanted to earn our own scholarships, but I was getting recruited by a totally different Division I school,” she said in a press release. “The only school that offered us both scholarships was Central Washington, but we both knew we could play at a higher level.
“I'm so grateful for our opportunity, and I thank God over and over again. It's not every day that a married couple receives athletic scholarships to a Division I school.”
Nance-Johnson is a 2005 graduate of Henry Foss High in Tacoma. She played at Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho, as a freshman in 2005-06, then transferred to Yakima Valley for the 2006-07 season.
Nance-Johnson did not play in 2007-08. Instead she coached the girls' basketball team at Riverside Christian School in Yakima while her husband completed his second year at Yakima Valley.
“Right now in our program we don't have anybody like (Nance-Johnson) who played point in high school,” Selvig said. “We know Mandy (Morales) can do it. But we talked about, ‘Boy, with an injury are we deep enough there?'
“We do have a good team and good guards coming back though, so (Nance-Johnson) truly understands she won't be given anything.”
Nance-Johnson becomes the first junior college transfer to join the Lady Griz since Jill Greenfield and current assistant coach Annette (Whitaker) Rocheleau transferred into the program in 1979. Selvig prefers to recruit preps and nurture them, although there is no denying Rocheleau and Greenfield helped kickstart Montana's winning tradition.
As a team captain for Yakima in 2006-07, Nance-Johnson averaged 9.6 points, 4.7 steals, 4.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game. She was also the defensive point of attack on a YVCC team that forced an average of 26 turnovers per game.
“In the end it was my husband's success that made me want to strap on my Jordans again,” Nance-Johnson said. “The competitive juices started to flow, and I haven't lost my intensity, my quickness or my handle. I know once I'm at Montana it's going to be crazy.”
Nance-Johnson feels her year of coaching has helped her better understand basketball. By the same token, she admits she'll have butterflies when she joins the Lady Griz, who reached the NCAA tourney in March.
“I am so excited to be joining such a successful and respected team,” she said. “I'm nervous about going to a new team, but Coach Selvig said I'll be fine because I bring something different to the table. That's helped ease my nerves.”
The signing of Nance-Johnson brings Selvig's 2008-09 recruiting class to four. During last November's early signing period Selvig signed high school seniors Ashley Ferda of Whitefish, Ali Hurley of Anaconda, and Tianna Ware of Bakersfield, Calif.
Sports writer Bill Speltz can be reached at 523-5255 or bill.speltz@lee.net.
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