 Only two basketball players, Cazzie Russell and Rudy Tomjanovich were inducted into the Hall of Honor before Townsend.In 2000, The Sporting News picked Townsend as a member of its Michigan all-time basketball team; he was one of only two players from before 1974 named to the team.Townsend's grandson, Eric Montross, played basketball at the University of North Carolina and in the NBA.