Gonzaga using award snubs as motivation for WCC Tournament

Those who have followed the 2024-25 college basketball season closely had a difficult time wrapping their heads around the fact that the nation's leader in assists by a sizable margin wasn't even considered a finalist for an award that represents the best point guard in the sport for that year.

To little surprise, his teammates didn't make much sense of the snub either. Despite the fact Gonzaga guard Ryan Nembhard has put together one of the most impressive seasons statistically a playmaker can have, the senior who owns the top two spots on the Bulldogs' all-time assist leaderboard for a single season wasn't among the five players who were chosen as finalists for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year award.

"It’s crazy," Bulldogs senior Nolan Hickman said of Nembhard's snub. "It’s outlandish. That’s how it is, that’s just how basketball goes. You get snubbed for certain things."

Nembhard's season total reached 311 assists after he dished out 16 assists in the Zags'95-75 win over San Francisco last Saturday, which followed a 15-assist night against Santa Clara earlier in the week. The senior guard, who's currently 13th all-time for the most assists in a single season, became the first player to record 15 or more assists in back-to-back games against Division-I opponents since 2011 and the first player to have two 15-assist games against the same opponent in a single season in 22 years (Nembhard had 15 assists in the Broncos' win over the Bulldogs in Spokane on Jan. 18).

Gonzaga Bulldogs senior Ryan Nembhard. | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

At his current rate of 10.0 assists per game, the tenth-highest assist average in NCAA history, Nembhard will approach the top-five range by the time the Zags are suiting up for the NCAA Tournament. But while everyone else around him will surely be tracking his totals throughout Gonzaga's ensuing postseason run, Nembhard's only concern lies in what the scoreboard reads at the final buzzer.

"It is what it is honestly," Nembhard said of the award snub. "I don't vote on that so it is what it is. I'm trying to win games with the guys and that's my ultimate goal. I didn't come here to win no individual awards; I came here to win games and go far in the tournament. And so that's what I look forward to doing."

Hickman and his teammates know firsthand what it's like to be on both sides of receiving — and coming up just short of — earning recognition for their individual efforts. Hickman was voted All-WCC first team for the first time in his career this season, while Graham Ike and Nembhard received the same honor for a second season in a row. But also just like 2023-24, none of the WCC's individual honors for the 2024-25 season (player of the year, defensive player of the year, freshman of the year, sixth man of the year, newcomer of the year and coach of the year) were awarded to any from Gonzaga.

Gonzaga seniors Graham Ike (13) and Ryan Nembhard (0). | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Instead, the WCC's back-to-back regular season champion, Saint Mary's, claimed five of the six yearly honors, as Augustas Marciulionis was named the league's player of the year and Mitchell Saxen took home defensive player of the year; Paulius Murauskas was newcomer of the year while Mikey Lewis was voted by the league's 11 coaches as the conference's top freshman.

Perhaps there's no one on the Bulldogs roster that understands Nembhard's position more than Ike, who became one of the few players in WCC history to lead the league in scoring and field goal percentage during conference play last season. Yet despite his historical season, he wasn't honored as the league's player of the year. That in addition to being left off the All-America teams last season (Ike was an honorable mention) and having to overcome a foot injury that derailed his 2021-22 campaign, when he was voted the preseason Mountain West Player of the Year.

Now, as their college careers come closer and closer to an end, Gonzaga's seniors would rather go out on top together, rather than individual champions.

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Ryan Nembhard is honored as a part of Senior Night. | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

"It's a huge goal," Ike said of winning the WCC Tournament. "It's something that he and I actually talked about before: just winning the whole thing as a team, as a collective. That's what really matters. We play a team sport, it's not an individual sport. Individual accolades are cool, but they really come from winning. And that's what we're looking forward to. That's where my mindset is."

"His mindset about everything is really impressive," Hickman said of Nembhard. "Just not even caring about certain things and not caring about his individual self just goes to show what he is as a player and a dude so, all props to my guy for sure."

The Bulldogs open the WCC Tournament from the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas as the No. 2 seed for Monday night's semifinal matchup against a to-be-determined opponent. Barring any upsets in the earlier rounds, Gonzaga will take on No. 3 seed San Francisco for a third time this season with the opportunity to advance to the championship game on Monday, likely against No. 1 seed Saint Mary's.

Gonzaga seniors Ryan Nembhard (0), Ben Gregg (33) and Nolan Hickman (11). | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

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