http://www.montanagrizzlies.com/pages/n ... =8933&m=17" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;Former University of Montana star guard Anthony Johnson continues to add to his legacy, as it was announced today by ESPN that he is one of four athletes nominated for a 2010 ESPY Award in the category of Best Championship Performance.
"AJ" joins some elite competition for the prestigious award. The finalists along with Johnson include Drew Brees, Super Bowl XLIV; Michael Phelps, World Swimming Championships; and Shaun White, Winter Olympics.
"Wow that is some awesome company," said Johnson via phone from New York, where he and his wife will soon watch the 2010 National Basketball Association draft on television. "It is amazing and a blessing, and another great opportunity to receive."
The ESPY’s take place Wednesday, July 14 at the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles and will be hosted by Seth Meyers of "Saturday Night Live" and televised live (7:00 p.m. MT, on ESPN).
Fans have a chance to select the winners by voting on line, by mobile device at espn.com/espys, or on the ESPN facebook page: facebook.com/espn. To see all of the other ESPY nominations and start voting today please go to espn.com/espys.
All proceeds from the ESPYs and related events benefit the V Foundation for Cancer Research in memory of the late Jim Valvano.
This is the first time in school history that UM or a Grizzly athlete has been nominated for an ESPY.
Johnson, who scored 34 second-half points to rally Montana from a 20-point halftime deficit, became a national sensation in earlier this year when he led the Grizzlies to a Big Sky Conference tournament championship win over Weber State – shown on ESPN2, which led Montana to an NCAA tournament berth.
"My wife and I created a vision board, and believe it or not, on that board, one of the things we listed was "winning an ESPY Award", Johnson said. "After the Weber State game I told my wife "hey, I could win an ESPY." To find out today that I really have a chance for something that big is just incredible."
Earlier this week Johnson and his wife Shaunte Nance-Johnson, who played for the Lady Griz, were both selected Tuesday by the Harlem Globetrotters in the team’s annual draft. The basketball-playing couple becomes the first husband-wife duo to be drafted by a professional sports team.
"It’s been a great last couple of months, with the NBA tryouts, getting drafted by the Globetrotters, and now the ESPYs," Johnson said. "Today has been a whirlwind, with interviews from the national media and all. The phone has not stopped, and now with this, I guess things will continue to be crazy. We were going to go out and see more of the sights of New York tonight, but now I am just going to stay in the room, watch the draft and hope to hear my name called."
The Globetrotters’ annual draft is an invitation to the team’s fall training camp to vie for the opportunity of being a Globetrotter for the team’s 85th consecutive season of touring the world. Though he was drafted, Johnson’s main focus continues to be the NBA or playing overseas.
The Johnsons, both from Tacoma, Wash., were married in 2006 and joined the Griz and Lady Griz programs prior to the 2008-09 season for their final two years of collegiate basketball.
Johnson spent two seasons at Yakima Valley (Wash.) Community College before transferring to Montana. Nance-Johnson played one season at Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho, and one season at Yakima Valley.
Johnson wrapped up his brilliant two-year career with the Grizzlies by leading the team to its eighth NCAA tournament appearance in March.
Montana, which tied for third in the regular season, made the NCAA tournament after a riveting 66-65 victory over top seed and host Weber State at Ogden, Utah, in the Big Sky Conference tournament championship game.
Johnson scored a school and tournament record 42 points against the Wildcats, including 34 in the second half and UM’s final 21, as the Griz stormed back from a 40-20 halftime deficit in front of a national television audience. A No. 14 seed, Montana dropped a tight 62-57 decision to No. 3 New Mexico in an NCAA opening-round game played at San Jose, Calif.
Johnson was a two-time unanimous All-Big Sky Conference selection and finished his career with 1,124 points and is the only two-year Montana player to score 1,000 or more career points.
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