Will Ryan Nembhard have an All-American season for Gonzaga? 2024-25 player preview

Gonzaga's ride to the Final Four is in the hands of its senior point guard

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Who knows how Mark Few would’ve handled the point guard position last season if Ryan Nembhard hadn’t transferred from Creighton to Gonzaga? Despite some inconsistencies to start, the younger brother of Andrew Nembhard had the Bulldogs running at the beat of a top-five offense in the country by season’s end.

“It took me a while honestly [to adjust to Gonzaga]. Nembhard said on an episode of Gonzaga Nation. “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.”

After struggling to be consistent in nonconference play, Nembhard fell into a groove offensively when he started playing with more patience as opposed to urgency in league play. He set Gonzaga’s single-season assists record and was named to the All-WCC first team as he led the conference in assists (6.8 per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (4.6-1). The spotty 3-point numbers from nonconference play bumped up to 46.0% on 3.1 attempts per game in WCC action.

Nembhard’s connection with Graham Ike in the pick-and-roll game had the Zags surging on offense in the weeks leading up to the NCAA Tournament. Nembhard became the first player in program history since Dan Dickau in 2001 to have back-to-back games with 10 or more points and 10 or more assists during a hot stretch in January, followed by a 20-point, 10-assist night in Moraga, California, to take down Saint Mary’s in the regular season finale. In the NCAA Tournament, he averaged 9.3 assists to go with 9.0 points.

With six other rotational players back from that Sweet 16 team, Nembhard doesn’t have to learn as many new names heading into his senior season as he did a year ago. Nolan Hickman is back supporting him in the backcourt, while Ben Gregg, Braden Huff and Ike occupy the frontcourt. Along with the holdovers, Gonzaga brought in three impactful transfers in Michael Ajayi (Pepperdine), Khalif Battle (Arkansas) and Emmanuel Innocenti (Tarleton State) to round out the 2024-25 rotation.

Boasting continuity and depth, the Bulldogs have become a trendy pick as an early Final Four contender. Perhaps no player is more important to those aspirations than Nembhard — seven of the past 10 national champions had the same point guard in the starting lineup from the season before. 

“This is the most competitive summer I’ve had in college basketball,” Nembhard said. “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.”

Here is an in-depth preview at Nembhard’s 2024-25 season and his NBA outlook.

STRENGTHS: PLAYING OFF TWO FEET

A lot of Nembhard’s decision-making early on last season came down to whether he was playing grounded and patient or up-tempo and out of rhythm. Some of the inconsistencies had to do with adjusting to a new offense, though Nembhard’s own desires to play fast and off one foot played a role as well.

“When I got to college I was always a one-foot guy,” Nembhard said. “I just thought playing off two kinda limited you, but I feel like as I’ve gotten older, playing off two and slowing it down sometimes works.”

Nembhard made that connection during the WCC regular season, as he started attempting fewer floaters off one foot in favor of more controlled push-shots off two feet. As a smaller guard that helped him patiently navigate and probe through taller defenders. 

Standing 6-foot-tall according to the team roster, Nembhard recognizes he’ll have to play with more control when he gets downhill into the teeth of the defense this season. According to hoop-math.com, he made 55.0% of his field goal attempts at the rim last season — only Dusty Stromer (53.6%) had a lower conversion rate on the team. 

Outside the arc, Nembhard shot the ball with more confidence against WCC competition than he did against the nonleague opponents. Without a learning curve to overcome this season, perhaps his 3-point numbers in his second season at Gonzaga will look more like what they did during his second and final season at Creighton, when he shot 35.6% on 4.0 attempts per game as a sophomore.

“Always just trying to improve my shooting,” Nembhard said. “Made a couple of tweaks to my shot and I think it’ll be great going forward.”

OFFSEASON WORK: APPLY FOUL PRESSURE

Nembhard’s new backcourt mate Battle was second in the SEC in free throw attempts last season with 213, though Nembhard, who attempted 101 shots at the charity stripe in comparison, doesn’t have a 6-foot-5, 185-pound frame to work with either. As such, he’s been studying film on a similarly-sized All-NBA guard to learn about the art of drawing fouls, as well as training with Gonzaga assistant coach Stephen Gentry in the offseason.

“This summer I feel like we’ve really been working on trying to get fouled,” Nembhard said. “Improve my 2-point scoring at the rim, improve my at-the-rim finishing and stuff like that and then, getting fouled. We’ve been watching a lot of Jalen Brunson clips, just how he manipulates defenses, gets guys in disadvantageous situations and just, creates fouls. Coach Few is always talking about foul pressure and just how, if you get in the bonus early it’s probably gonna be easy for the rest of the night so, that’s been one of my main focuses.”

The 6-foot-2 Brunson was one of the league’s top scorers during his All-NBA season with the New York Knicks due to his ability to probe defenses and draw fouls. He’s also mastered pinning his defender on his backside when he comes off a screen, a move popularized by James Harden and Chris Paul, that makes him an even greater scoring threat when playing off two feet. Nembhard showcased the ability to freeze defenders in a similar way last season, with the potential to make it a bigger part of his game in 2024-25.

CURRENT NBA OUTLOOK: 2ND ROUND PICK

It’s no secret guards of Nembhard’s size have to overcome a lot to carve out a role in the association. With the exception of outliers like Brunson, a majority of the league’s smaller guards are role players who specialize in on-ball defense and catch-and-shoot opportunities, like Jose Alvarado, Cole Anthony, Patrick Beverly, Jevon Carter and others.

Nembhard was Gonzaga’s second most valuable player on defense behind Anton Watson last season, according to EvanMiya.com. The numbers indicate he’s a positive on that end of the floor, though scouts would probably like to see him face bigger and more physical guards before making any kind of evaluation in that regard.

What can’t be denied is Nembhard’s reputation as one of the best playmakers in college basketball. His ability to read defenses and play with pace were big reasons why the Zags ranked No. 5 in offensive efficiency last season, per KenPom.com. With even more familiarity as a senior, Nembhard could hit the ground running in 2024-25.

If Nembhard has standout performances in big wins over some of Gonzaga’s notable nonleague opponents, his name could start to pop up on mock drafts and big boards for the 2025 NBA Draft. Currently, NBADraftRoom.com lists Nembhard as a possible second-round pick following his final year of college.

PREDICTION: ALL-WCC, ALL-AMERICAN HONORABLE MENTION

Nembhard could very well earn preseason All-American honors from the Associated Press, along with being named to a handful of watch lists for notable positional awards that are monitored throughout the season. Heading into last season, he was named to the Naismith Trophy and Bob Cousy (point guard) award watch lists. 

While it's not fair to expect Nembhard to dish out another record amount of assists again, he certainly has the talent surrounding him to pull it off. His 2023-24 campaign was so impressive from a statistical standpoint that he's on pace to crack the program's top 10 all-time assist leaders once his Gonzaga career comes to a close.