Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard named West Coast Conference Player of the Week
A pair of double-doubles last week earned Gonzaga Bulldogs point guard Ryan Nembhard the West Coast Conference Player of the Week on Monday.
Nembhard put up 16 points and 11 assists in a 91-74 win at Loyola Marymount, followed by an 18-point, 10-assist and five-rebound outing in the 102-76 blowout over Pacific on Saturday. He shot a combined 14-of-25 from the field (56.0%) and was 4-of-9 from behind the arc (44.4%) while committing just four turnovers.
Nembhard's 10.5 assists per game during that stretch was the fifth-highest average in the nation. Per Gonzaga's sports information director, Nembhard was the first player in program history to have back-to-back games with 10 or more assists since Derek Raivio in the 2004-05 season.
Nembhard leads the WCC in assists by a wide margin at 6.1 per game, which is the most by a Bulldogs player since Josh Perkins in 2018-19 (6.3 per game).
Gonzaga's Mark Few on Ryan Nembhard's big night vs. Pacific: 'We've leaned on him really hard'
It was Nembhard's second player of the week award this season, second-most behind San Francisco's Jonathan Mogbo (three).
Pepperdine's Michael Ajayi, Saint Mary's guard Augustus Marciulionis, Santa Clara's Johnny O'Neil, San Diego's Deuce Turner and Mogbo were also nominated.
San Diego's Kevin Patton Jr. earned WCC Freshman of the Week after averaging 12.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in two games against Portland and Santa Clara. It's the fourth week Patton Jr. earned the award, the most in the league. Braden Huff and Santa Clara's Christian Hammond were nominated as well.