Gonzaga had a big morning on Friday, landing a commitment from one of the most impactful names in the transfer portal as Creighton star Ryan Nembhard committed to the Bulldogs. Nembhard’s commitment came shortly after Gonzaga also added Wyoming transfer Graham Ike to its incoming class, helping reshape what the Zags’ roster will look like entering 2023-24.
Nembhard, a former five-star recruit, spent two seasons at Creighton where he averaged 11.8 points and 4.6 assists per game for the Bluejays before hitting the portal in the offseason. His commitment gives Gonzaga a second Nembhard to build around after his older brother, Andrew, played under Mark Few from 2020-2022, twice earning All-WCC honors before going on to be the No. 31 overall pick of the 2022 NBA draft.
“Of course my brother had been telling me for years what a great coach Mark [Few] was,” Nembhard told ESPN about his commitment. “And 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; he started more games this year as a rookie than any other Pacers rookie has started in over 20 years.
A Montverde Academy product, Nembhard was a four-star prospect in the 2021 class who signed with Creighton over offers from Ohio State, Seton Hall and Florida, among others. His older brother signed with the Gators out of high school before transferring to Gonzaga after two seasons.
The younger Nembhard also joins Gonzaga after two seasons at Creighton where he made his mark as one of the most impactful and underrated lead guards in the Big East. He made 64 starts in 64 appearances and twice finished top-10 in the league in assist rate during conference play. The Bluejays won 47 games across his two seasons and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in the expansion era as Nembhard propelled them to a deep tournament run, averaging 14 points and 3.5 assists per game in four NCAA Tournament appearances highlighted by a 30-point explosion in Round 2 to take down No. 3 seed Baylor.
Nembhard is the fifth player to commit to Gonzaga in the 2023 cycle and third to pick the program out of the portal, joining Eastern Washington combo guard Steele Venters and the aforementioned Ike out of Wyoming. Venters was the Player of the Year in the Big Sky last season and a two-time All-Big Sky performer, while Ike redshirted last season due to injury a year after earning…
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