Florida transfer Nembhard chooses Zags
Andrew Nembhard (2) played his first two seasons at Florida before opting to transfer.
ALAN YOUNGBLOOD/Associated Press
Guard will sit out in 2020-21, then have two seasons of eligibility remaining
SPOKANE — Andrew Nembhard, a transfer from the University of Florida, signed a financial aid agreement at Gonzaga University and will join the men’s basketball team, the Zags announced Tuesday.
Nembhard will enroll in classes at Gonzaga and be eligible for the 2021-22 season after sitting out the upcoming season due to NCAA transfer rules. He’ll have two years of eligibility remaining.
“We are excited to have a player and person like Andrew in our program,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “He is going to be a great addition, and I look forward to working with him.”
Nembhard, No. 2 in ESPN’s ranking of sit-out transfers eligible for the 2021-22 season, averaged 33 minutes per game for Florida in 2019-20. The 6-foot-5, 193-pound guard averaged 11.2 points, 5.6 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.1 steals last season as a sophomore. The native of Aurora, Ontario, totaled 636 points (9.5 ppg) and 367 assists (5.5 apg) with the Gators.
Nembhard and current Bulldog Filip Petrusev were high school teammates at Montverde Academy in Florida. They helped Montverde capture the 2018 Geico High School Nationals title. Nembhard was ranked No. 20 nationally by 247sports coming out of high school.
Nembhard, who was recruited by the Zags out of high school, has played on the Canadian senior national team alongside former Zags Kelly Olynyk, Kevin Pangos and Kyle Wiltjer. He appeared in all five games for Canada at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China, after playing in the World Cup qualifying games during the Summer of 2018. He led Canada to a silver medal at the 2018 FIBA U18 Americas, averaging 15.7 points and 8.8 assists over the course of six games. He scored 28 points vs. Argentina and had 17 assists in the semifinals vs. Puerto Rico.