MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — Point guard Shawn Stockton, nephew of NBA legend John Stockton, has made a verbal agreement to play basketball at the University of Montana in the fall.
Shawn Stockton is an all-state basketball and football player at Ferris High in Spokane, Wash. He averaged 12.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.6 steals per game last season as Ferris capped a 29-0 season with the Washington state 4A championship. He is also the starting quarterback on the football team, which is ranked No. 1 in the state.
Steve Stockton said his son was offered scholarships by both Montana and Montana State.
“I went on a few visits to both and I really like them,” Shawn Stockton said, “but it came down to Montana just being closer, so my family could come watch me play.”
Montana coach Wayne Tinkle can’t comment on recruits until after the Nov. 7 signing period.
Shawn’s older brother, Steve Jr., is a junior on the basketball team at Whitworth College.
Shawn Stockton’s cousin — John Stockton’s son Hunter — is a redshirt defensive back on the Montana football team. Hunter’s brother, Michael, is a freshman on the Westminster College basketball team.
John Stockton, who played basketball at Gonzaga University before spending his entire career with the Utah Jazz, is the NBA’s career leader in assists and steals.
Steve Stockton, who played basketball at the University of Washington, knows his sons’ basketball skills will always be compared to their uncle’s.
“It’s not quite fair,” Steve Stockton said. “What Shawn does is play really hard. That’s his strength. He’s like a wind-up doll and away you go.”
Earlier this week, Tinkle announced that a junior college transfer, Sean Watson, was leaving the Griz basketball team because he was homesick. The departure freed up a scholarship.
“We’ve been recruiting a player we really, really wanted to get that we weren’t able to offer a scholarship,” Tinkle said at the time. “It opened one up for this kid. Hopefully we’ll be able to land him and in the long run we will be all right.”
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