ANDY SAWYER/Yakima Herald-Republic Anthony Johnson and Shaunte Nance-Johnson loosely re-enact Anthony's proposal.

He was fine with it, saying he had plans for the two of them, most of which he preferred to keep to himself until precisely the right moment.

"Got it all right here," Anthony Johnson said, smiling and pointing to his head.

"I guess that's cool," said his wife, Shaunte Nance-Johnson. "I'll have to work on him a little bit to find out. Maybe I can get him to talk in his sleep."

So if Yakima Valley Community College's men's and women's basketball teams won't see their usual Wednesday night action, it will afford Anthony, a starting guard on the men's team, and Shaunte, a starting guard on the women's team, the chance to enjoy Valentine's Day together.

It will be their first.

And the latest chapter in a real-life, modern-day, love story.

They met in Tacoma, when he was a sophomore at Stadium High School and she was a sophomore at Foss.

Well, they didn't actually meet. She played and he noticed.

"I thought to myself, 'Hey, she's cute,'" Anthony said. "But I didn't talk to her then."

When Anthony next saw Shaunte, they were both seniors, she was involved and he was surprised.

"She was going out with my best friend," Anthony said. "I'm like, 'What the heck is this?' Then we were introduced to each other, and it happened. Bells are going off -- the whole thing."

For him, at least.

"I didn't know who he was," Shaunte said.

Anthony, while somewhat disappointed that she and his friend were an item, became philosophical. They could at least be friends, he reasoned.

Then fate intervened. Shaunte and Anthony's friend broke up.

ANDY SAWYER/Yakima Herald-Republic Husband and wife Anthony Johnson and Shaunte Nance-Johnson are both starting guards for the Yakima Valley Community College men's and women's basketball teams.

Anthony and Shaunte got to know each other better, got to like each other better and, ultimately, came to love each other.

But while Anthony had considered some college basketball offers before choosing to "take the year off" and stay in Tacoma, Shaunte had planned to play at Northwest Nazarene University.

And for two young people in love, it's hard to get much farther away from Tacoma than Nampa, Idaho.

Before they knew it, it was Shaunte's day to leave. They had spent most of the previous night talking, and while they'd hoped to continue the relationship, there were no concrete plans.

Until 5 a.m.

"That's when I popped the question," Anthony said.

Said Shaunte, "I didn't know what to say because I was so stunned. Then I started seeing tears."

Said Anthony, readily and almost proudly, "Oh yeah, I started crying first."

Having already shown an impressive ability to improvise, Anthony took the next step. He had no ring to offer, but he did have a rubber band.

"A black rubber band," Shaunte said, smiling. "I said yes."

So they were engaged -- and headed toward spending a year apart.

Thanks to phone calls -- daily calls that would often last from night into day -- the relationship survived.

"We talked every day for a year," Shaunte said. "We'd fall asleep on the phone. Sometimes I'd wake up listening to him snore.

"We talked so much my coach made up a special team rule just because of me. At 11 o'clock each night, they'd take my phone away."

Said Anthony, "I was crying all the time. And the phone bills were ridiculous."

The love wasn't, though.

They made it through the school year via the daily long, long-distance phone conversations, plus occasional visits.

Shaunte chose not to return to Northwest Nazarene, and she and Anthony were uncertain of their immediate future until, once again, fate intervened.

This time it came in the form of a phone call from YVCC women's coach Cody Butler.

"I had already made my decision," Shaunte said. "I told him that he should do whatever he wanted to do, and that I would follow him."

It turned out that no one had to follow.

"A week later," she said, "right out of nowhere, Cody Butler called. I told him I'm not coming unless my fiancé can come, too."

And it turned out that just as Butler needed players, so did men's coach Ray Funk. So before Anthony and Shaunte became man and wife, they became Yaks.

Practice for both teams officially started last Oct. 15. Anthony and Shaunte were married Nov. 1, in Yakima.

"No way I could have seen myself at a junior college," Shaunte said, "but you never know how things are going to work."

Not only are Shaunte and Anthony together and married, they're playing and excelling.

Shaunte, a 5-foot-5 guard, has provided YVCC's women with an explosive, driving presence and is adept at getting to the rim.

Anthony, a 6-3 guard, has played especially well of late, scoring 87 points over his past three games.

Anthony and Shaunte are not only happy, they're proud.

They have given much thought to their futures -- to their lives together -- have made plans and are diligently working toward them.

Anthony, who already has a real estate license, is pursuing a degree in business. Shaunte wants to become first a kindergarten teacher, and later a mom and homemaker.

They hope to have six children.

"You have to keep your brains with your heart," she said. "And we feel good about they way we're doing this. Not many happy stories come out of Tacoma. And with us being only 20 years old and being African-
American, we're not just playing basketball, we're getting our education, we're being responsible and we're planning our lives."

Said Anthony, "You don't see a lot of that where we come from. We feel good about this."

And why not? Couples like Anthony and Shaunte are what Valentine's Day is about.

But one question: When they play hoops against each other, who wins?

"I do, usually," Anthony said, "but I'll tell you what. She plays D on me like nobody else. My crossover doesn't work, none of my moves work. I can't shake her."

And in the grand scheme of things, he clearly doesn't want to.

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