Ryan Nembhard on choosing to come to Gonzaga: 'One of the best decisions of my life'

‘I love it here man, I’m a Zag for sure so I love this place. This is just such a great family environment out here, something I’ll be a part of forever and I don’t take it for granted.'

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

During a brutally hot summer day in Spokane in July, the Gonzaga men’s basketball program has begun preparations for the 2024-25 college basketball season. 

The message of this particular practice: Don’t count the days, make the days count.

“So you gotta prepare today, so we can have separation tomorrow,” assistant coach R-Jay Barsh said to the team. “Don’t count the day, make today count … it’s a mentality, it’s a switch we gotta turn on in your head.”

While head coach Mark Few is off with Team USA in the Paris Games, the coaching staff has started to integrate the Bulldogs’ 10 returning players from last season’s Sweet 16 run with a batch of talented newcomers who collectively bring different skill sets to the table. Pepperdine transfer and All-WCC wing Michael Ajayi poses size and athleticism on the perimeter at 6-foot-7, with the ability to knock down the long ball (47.0% on 3-point attempts last season). Khalif Battle, a 6-foot-5 grad transfer from Arkansas, can fill up the scoring column and be a hound defensively. The same goes for Emmanuel Innocenti, another 6-foot-5 transfer from Tarleton State, while 7-foot Senegalese center Ismaila Diagne provides solid rim-running action and a large presence in the paint on defense.

How exactly the new pieces fit in with the familiar faces remains to be seen, but if anything is for certain it’s that summer practices don’t lack in competitive spirit.

“This is the most competitive summer I’ve had in college basketball,” said Ryan Nembhard. “Every time we play pickup the scores end in a 1-point, 2-point game so I’m just seeing a bunch of guys that are super competitive. I really like this group of guys. I think coach Few is always great at figuring out the roster and figuring out who’s gonna play what minutes and divvying it up that way. I know he’s a great in this sport so he’ll figure it all out.”

This time a year ago it was Nembhard who was beginning to adjust to life in Spokane after he transferred from Creighton. Admittedly there were some growing pains — the Bulldogs got off to a wonky 11-4 start after trading wins and losses in December, all while Nembhard’s outside shots didn’t fall with the same consistency they had when he was a Bluejay. After a 77-76 loss to Santa Clara, in which Nembhard missed a crucial free throw down the stretch, the Zags fell out of the AP Top 25 poll and were getting an earful from critics. 

“It took me a while honestly [to adjust to Gonzaga]. Nembhard said. “I would say I really felt comfortable midway through conference play. There was a bunch of new guys that I had to get used to playing with, a new style of play.”

“Once I figured that out, it was pretty good. Me and coach Few felt like we built a great relationship over our first year and it’s only going to continue to get better,” Nembhard said.

Turns out last season’s run to the Sweet 16 was just the beginning for this group of Zags. No last-minute transfer portal entries from any of the starters; Braden Huff, Dusty Stromer and Jun Seok Yeo are back for their second season of college basketball. In an era of college athletics where NIL opportunities and the portal have caused chaos, everything was silent on Spokane’s front.

“I love it here man, I’m a Zag for sure so I love this place,” Nembhard said. “This is just such a great family environment out here, something I’ll be a part of forever and I don’t take it for granted.”

“Probably one of the best decisions of my life [was] to come here so I’m super happy I made the decision to come here. Great people out here, great city that just loves hoops so, I’m happy.”

Nembhard shared insight on what he’s seen from Gonzaga’s incoming transfer class in summer practices, what it’s like watching his brother Andrew play in the Olympics and much more, on a new Gonzaga Nation episode.

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE BELOW:

Produced by Thomas Gallagher.

FOLLOW GONZAGA NATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Continue to follow our Gonzaga coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Instagram and Twitter @GonzagaOnSI.