Gonzaga's Ryan Nembhard named Bob Cousy Award top 10

Gonzaga men's basketball guard Ryan Nembhard was named one of the 10 candidates for the 2025 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall-of-Fame on Monday.

The annual honor, named after hall-of-fame guard and Boston Celtic legend Bob Cousy, recognizes the top point guards in Division-I men's college basketball. The watchlist of 10 players was determined by a national committee of college basketball personnel.

The Bulldogs (16-7, 7-3 WCC) have dropped out of the media poll and remain unranked following another close loss in a 62-58 defeat to Saint Mary's on Saturday, stud floor general has remained the most consistent playmaker in the country to this point. Nembhard, who became the first player to eclipse the 100 and 200-assist marks this season, still leads the country in assists with 229, which is just 14 shy of Gonzaga's single-season record — the same one Nembhard set himself last season.

Nembhard's not even through two seasons with the Zags, though he already ranks among the top 10 players in program history in career assists. His 471 assists are the seventh-most in Gonzaga history (Josh Perkins is No. 1 with 712). Nembhard has recorded 10 or more assists in 14 of his 23 appearances this season, including a 14-assist performance against Davidson in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Nembhard's 39 assists over that three-day span were the most in the history of the event.

Nembhard averages a double-double with 11.0 points and 10.0 assists, the latter of which ranks No. 1 in the country. He recorded his 10th double-double in an 11-point, 12-assist performance against the Gaels, tying him with a slew of players for the seventh-most double-doubles in the nation. Nembhard is also shooting 43.8% from the field, a career-high 39.1% from 3-point range (2.8 attempts per game) and 76.6% from the free-throw line.

The list of 10 candidates will be narrowed down to five in March, when the five finalists will be presented to Cousy and the hall of fame's selection committees. The winner of the Bob Cousy Award will be announced later during the NCAA Tournament, along with the other four positional awards; Jerry West Award (shooting guard), Julius Erving Award (small forward), Karl Malone (power forward) and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (center). Graham Ike was named to the Malone top 10 list on Saturday.

Purdue's Braden Smith and West Virginia's Javon Small were among the 10 players named to the Cousy list. The Bulldogs have run into Smith a handful of times over the past three seasons, including last season in the Sweet 16. Small had a season-high 31 points in the Mountaineers' overtime win over the Zags in the Atlantis tournament.

Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award Top 10
Mark Sears, Alabama
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
Keshon Gilbert, Iowa State
Kam Jones, Marquette
Ace Baldwin, Penn State
Braden Smith, Purdue
Dylan Harper, Rutgers
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
Javon Small, West Virginia

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

What Gonzaga's Graham Ike, Ryan Nembhard said after loss vs. Saint Mary's

What Gonzaga's Mark Few said after loss vs. Saint Mary's

Saint Mary's Gaels 62, Gonzaga Bulldogs 58: Live score recap, highlights

Gonzaga's Mark Few on Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett: 'He's built a heck of a program down there'

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