Creighton transfer Ryan Nembhard picks Gonzaga over Arizona

Creighton guard Ryan Nembhard announced on Friday that he is committing to join the Gonzaga Bulldogs, choosing his brother’s former school over coach Tommy Lloyd and the Arizona Wildcats, according to Stadium’s Jeff Goodman.

Nembhard was on Arizona’s radar because of Lloyd, a former Gonzaga assistant who recruited Andrew Nembhard to Spokane. Andrew Nembhard is now with the Indiana Pacers.

The Wildcats were in the portal after losing starting guards Kerr Kriisa (transferred to West Virginia) and Courtney Ramey (graduated). Shooting guard Pelle Larson and point guard Kylan Boswell, and perhaps incoming freshman guard/wing K.J. Lewis, will make up the Arizona backcourt as the team is currently constructed.

Ryan Nembhard entered the transfer portal on April 6 after starring for the Blue Jays this season en route to the Elite Eight. He averaged 12.1 points, 4.8 assists and 4.0 rebounds.

He scored 56 points in four games in this year’s NCAA Tournament, including a 30-point outing (career high) in the win over Baylor in the round of 32. He can score the ball in bunches, scoring 15 or more points 14 different times this year.

One of the guard’s best traits was his availability, averaging over 34 minutes in 64 games during the course of his freshman and sophomore seasons. Additionally, he shot a respectable 35.6% from beyond the arc in his second year.

“I fell in love with him the first time I saw him play,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said after the team’s loss to SDSU.

“His expression never changes, he has a type of demeanor that you want the rest of the team to look to, he’s never going to be rattled. He’ll never be too high when things are going well and never be too low if he’s struggling.”

Nembhard was originally a four-star recruit in the 2020 class out of Montverde Academy in Florida.

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