SAN JOSE, Calif. — If the N.C.A.A. held a coed basketball tournament of families — your five against their five, all the way through the bracket — the Tinkles of Missoula, Mont., would be the runaway favorite, seeded first over all.
“We’re pretty solid all around, one through five,” Joslyn Tinkle said. “I don’t think there’s a weak link.”
Wayne Tinkle, a former professional player, is the men’s basketball coach at Montana, which plays fourth-seeded Syracuse on Thursday in the N.C.A.A. tournament. His wife, Lisa, starred for Montana and was inducted into the university’s Hall of Fame in 2011.
Joslyn, 22, is the second-leading scorer for top-seeded Stanford, a championship contender in the women’s N.C.A.A. tournament. Elle, 19, is a highly regarded freshman at Gonzaga, also a tournament team. And Tres, already 6-foot-6 at the age of 16, was an all-state player this season as a sophomore, leading his high school team to a state championship two weekends ago.
Together, the 383 combined inches of Tinkles must be the most talented basketball family in the country.
“Our size alone would be pretty intimidating,” said Lisa, a 6-2 47-year-old.
Wish the kids would play at UM, wow that would be a dominate team.
Tinkle.
I had the pleasure of teaching each one of the Tinkle kids in 4th grade. An amazing family!
Eric Erickson, so glad we were able to meet them. GO GRIZ!!!
Awesome article for an awesome family.
Good god