Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard’s historic season takes tough blow in shocking award snub
The most anticipated time in all of college basketball is here, as March has begun, and the NCAA Tournament is starting in the coming weeks. Teams all around the country will be looking to make their case for the tournament or even go on Cinderella runs in their conference tournaments to make the Big Dance. Every year, unlikely scenarios seem to happen, such as NC State’s run to the Final Four, but that’s what makes the sport so special.
As the regular season winds down, that also means that awards are being narrowed down to finalists. One of the top awards in the country is the Bob Cousy Award, an honor that goes to the nation’s top point guard. Notable award winners from the past include Payton Pritchard, Ja Morant, and Jalen Brunson. While playmaking is viewed as one of the top traits in a great point guard, the voters for the Bob Cousy Award didn’t seem to factor that in much when narrowing it down to the finalists for the award.
According to a release, the 2025 Bob Cousy Award Finalists are as follows:
Mark Sears, Alabama
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
Kam Jones, Marquette
Braden Smith, Purdue
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
Previously named as a candidate for the award in February, Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard was among the top exclusions from the finalists. While Nembhard’s scoring average sits at 10.9 points per game as of Monday, he leads the NCAA in assists per game at 10.0. The next closest person to Nembhard is Purdue’s Braden Smith, averaging 8.7 per game.
Nembhard began his career with Creighton before making the move to Gonzaga, where he has blossomed into one of the best playmakers in the country. He recently broke the WCC conference record for assists in a single season and is continuing to build upon that.
One of the biggest factors has to be the success of Gonzaga this season, as they are unranked as of the Week 18 AP Poll despite being ranked sixth in the preseason poll. Expected to make the NCAA Tournament according to Joe Lunardi’s recent bracketology, Nembhard’s chances to win the Bob Cousy Award might’ve been better had the Bulldogs been having a better season.
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