Ex-Creighton guard Ryan Nembhard commits to Gonzaga, spurning Arizona

Tommy Lloyd’s first head-to-head recruiting battle with former boss Mark Few didn’t go his direction.

Former Creighton point guard Ryan Nembhard has committed to Gonzaga for the 2023-24 season, choosing Lloyd’s former school over Arizona. Nembhard visited Gonzaga last Friday, then took a visit to Arizona this past weekend.

Nembhard would have filled the roster spot previously held by Kerr Kriisa, who transferred to West Virginia after three seasons with the Wildcats.

The 6-foot Nembhard spent the past two seasons at Creighton, starting 64 games. In 2022-23 he averaged 12.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists for the Blue Jays, helping them reach the Elite Eight. He shot 35.6 percent from 3 and 48.2 percent from 2, and was on the Maui Invitational all-tournament team after averaging 20.3 points including 20 against Arizona in the tourney final won by the Wildcats.

He had a career-high 30 against Baylor in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

Nembhard is the younger brother of former Gonzaga guard Andrew Nembhard, who played two seasons for the Bulldogs after starting his career at Florida. Andrew was recruited to Gonzaga by current UA head coach Tommy Lloyd.

Arizona still has several scholarships to fill thanks to the graduation of Cedric Henderson Jr. and Courtney Ramey, Adama Bal’s entry into the transfer portal and Azuolas Tubelis’ decision to enter the 2023 NBA Draft.