Ryan Nembhard has never been a good long distance shooter. That has never really been his role throughout college. However, things have never been as bad as they are this year. With Gonzaga having zero other options available, the only thing fans can do is hope he finds something resembling even a poorly consistent outside shot, and does so soon.
Here are a few stats to sadden the soul:
- Nembhard is just 6-for-40 (15 percent) from three on the season
- Nembhard is just 2-for-19 (10 percent) from three in the month of December
- Of players who have attempted as many three-pointers (40) as him, Nembhard has the lowest percentage in the entire country
- Nembhard’s eFG% of 41.7 is the lowest on the team
No other way to cut it — these are some very brutal numbers. Any other player and you’d assume they would just not see the floor. Due to roster limitations, Nembhard isn’t just any other player — he is the only player. In the big games for Gonzaga in December, USC, Washington, UConn, and SDSU, he played 38, 40, 40, and 40 minutes respectively.
For a team that is struggling on offense, it just isn’t sustainable to have that much of a black hole from one of your shooters. The matter is made strictly worse due to the construction of this roster. Mark Few cannot just bench or limit Nembhard’s minutes simply because of poor shooting.
Although Nolan Hickman’s splits started out rather poorly, his 3P% has picked up as of late. Dusty Stromer’s defense has been great since thrust into the starting role, but unfortunately his offense hasn’t followed suit. Stromer is shooting just 32.4 percent from long range and holds an eFG% 45.3, second-lowest on the squad.
Stromer, obviously, needs to find his shot, but he is less of a playmaker and points producer than Nembhard. If Nembhard continues to shoot this poorly as the season progresses, things become infinitely harder for the Zags in any sort of close matchup. The front court can only carry the back court so far.
Is there any sort of good news on the horizon?
I’d like to think so. We saw Nembhard almost drain his first three since Arkansas Pine-Bluff on Friday evening against SDSU. His toe was on the line, but sometimes all it takes is just that one shot to go in to get to get the ball rolling.
But until there is actual proof in the pudding, Gonzaga fans will have to live with it, because this year, unlike most years, there just isn’t much that can be done about it.