Gonzaga head coach Mark Few preached it to the choir almost every other game. The national media and college basketball decided to look the other way instead.
But finally, months after Ryan Nembhard wrapped up his historic 2024-25 campaign, those closest to the sport have come around to the idea that the Bulldogs’ former floor general was the best point guard in the country last season.
A 2025 draft guide from The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie — complete with a background, strengths and areas for improvement for his top 75 pro prospects — started Nembhard’s breakdown with a lede that should catch the attention of any scout reading it.
“Nembhard has the case as the best pure point guard in the draft class,” Vecenie wrote. “As dynamic a ball-screen passer as you’ll find entering the NBA. Can make every pass in the book.”
Vecenie also highlighted Nembhard’s abilities to play fast and find teammates with perfectly-placed passes as reasons why the Canadian “will thrive” in an up-tempo setting, especially alongside other pros who have favorable athleticism and shotmaking.
Along with Nembhard’s ballhandling, finishing and budding 3-point shot, Vecenie made note of his competitiveness on the defensive end of the floor.
“He’s tough and willing to get into an opposing player’s space at the point of attack,” Vecenie wrote. “Has a low center of gravity, which allows him to be quick and beat opposing players to spots.”
Nembhard said following a visit with the Golden State Warriors that his defensive capabilities were among the aspects of his game that he wanted to show off leading during the dozen or so pre-draft workouts he’ll participate in over the next few weeks. He averaged a team-high 1.7 steals last season, though his size and stature continued to remain a talking point all throughout last month’s draft combine in Chicago.
Standing 5-foot-11 without shoes and weighing 175 pounds, Nembhard would be among the smallest players in the NBA next season.
“The size is a serious issue,” Vecenie wrote. “Will be very limited in certain respects because of it.”
In addition to Nembhard’s frame, Vecenie pointed out how the combination of being a smaller guard who’s a “reluctant scorer” could make it even harder for Nembhard at the next level. Nembhard’s low shot total at Gonzaga was partly design-based, as the Zags needed him to set the table for others in order for their offense to have any sort of rhythm. Plenty of pass-first guards have found success in the NBA, but without the height advantage on most occasions, Nembhard would have to get creative in how he counters long, lengthy defenders who make it tough to throw entry passes around.
Vecenie projected Nembhard will get selected with the No. 57 pick by the Orlando Magic, a team in need of backcourt depth. That pairing would team Nembhard up with another former Gonzaga guard in Jalen Suggs, who played alongside Andrew Nembhard, Ryan’s older brother, when they were both at Gonzaga during the 2020-21 season.
Nembhard wasn’t in San Antonio during the Final Four as a finalist for the Bob Cousy Point Guard Award in April, nor was considered a strong candidate to take home any of the other national awards — despite leading the NCAA in assists with 344, the fifth most all-time, while smashing Gonzaga and the West Coast Conference’s respective single-season assist records in the process.
“He’s as good a guard as I’ve ever coached ever,” Few said of Nembhard following his final college game, an 81-76 loss to Houston in the NCAA Tournament. “I think he’s the best point guard in college basketball, and I’ve had some great ones. I think the coaches that go against him would share that same thing.”
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