Gonzaga’s Andrew Nembhard named WCC Player of the Week

Andrew Nembhard walked out of the Footprint Center Saturday afternoon with a wooden plaque and the guard’s efforts against Texas Tech earned him another award on Monday as the Bulldogs’ senior point guard was named West Coast Conference Player of the Week for the second time in his career.

The Aurora, Ontario, native broke out of an offensive slump against No. 25 Texas Tech, scoring 16 points to go with six assists, four rebounds and three steals to win “Player of the Game” at the Jerry Colangelo Classic. Nembhard made four 3-pointers for the first time this season, and second time in the last two years, connecting on 4-of-8 from the three-point line.

It came on the heels of a four-game stretch where Nembhard struggled from distance, going 0-for-11 from beyond the arc. The point guard had scored just 21 combined points on 9-of-31 from the field and had 19 assists compared to 13 turnovers during that stretch before dishing out six assists with just one turnover against Texas Tech.

Nembhard last won WCC Player of the Week on Dec. 7, 2020, after scoring 19 points with six assists and five rebounds to help the Zags beat then No. 12 West Virginia. He becomes the first Gonzaga player to win the honor since Drew Timme claimed it in week one following his 37-point effort against No. 5 Texas.

Pepperdine’s Mike Mitchell Jr. was named the WCC’s Freshman of the Week.