Canadian point guard Ryan Nembhard has committed to Gonzaga and will play there next season, ESPN reported on Friday.
This season, the 20-year-old averaged 12.1 points, 4.8 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game as his Creighton Bluejays made it to the Elite Eight of the national championship.
“It wasn’t any one thing,” Nembhard told ESPN about the choice to transfer, despite finding success with Creighton. “We reached a level no other Creighton team achieved. I’m very happy for that and grateful for how the season evolved. That’s really all I want to say about that.”
Nembhard’s brother, Andrew Nembhard, also transferred to Gonzaga after his sophomore season, helping to build an offensively dominant team before finding success in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers. Both Nembhards are from Aurora, Ont., just outside of Toronto.
“It’s obvious Andrew was well-prepared for the NBA by Coach Few and all the staff at Gonzaga the two years he was there,” said Ryan Nembhard, the former Big East freshman of the year. “Winning, development, and overall happiness are all things I’m hunting. Andrew can’t help me find them. I have to do that on my own. Gonzaga is the place for me, I can just tell.”
Andrew Nembhard, the older of the two, was selected 31st overall by the Indiana Pacers in the 2022 NBA Draft and has since earned a place in the NBA Rising Stars game and averaged over 27 minutes per game, the seventh most among rookies. By game 10 this season, he was starting alongside All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton.
ESPN reported that Ryan Nembhard chose Gonzaga over Arizona, Alabama and the University of Central Florida, citing his brother’s experience as a deciding factor.
“I’m going to challenge myself to be an elite defender,” he said. “I know what Andrew did at Gonzaga to help his team win nearly every game he played as a Zag. And I see how that translates to the NBA. I plan on doing the same thing in Spokane, only a little better.”
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