‘He’ll come back stronger, for sure.’ Gonzaga’s Andrew Nembhard offered love, tough love to younger brother after wrist injury

There’s love and then there’s brotherly love.

Ryan Nembhard got some of both from his older sibling when Creighton’s standout freshman point guard went down with a broken wrist in the second half of a game against St. John’s on Feb. 23.

Andrew Nembhard, Gonzaga’s senior point guard and the older Nembhard by four years, saw a replay of the injury while the top-ranked Bulldogs were in the Bay Area preparing for a Feb. 24 game at San Francisco.

Scheduling conflicts have made it hard for Andrew to watch most of Ryan’s games in full, but he tries to catch Creighton when he can, and vice versa.

“I saw the replay, yeah,” Andrew said. “I didn’t look great.”

After doctors diagnosed Ryan with a fractured radius and broken metacarpal in his right hand, effectively ending the point guard’s season, the Nembhard brothers connected over the phone.

“He’s doing well, he’s doing well,” Andrew said. “Spirit was shot at first just because he couldn’t play in the tournament this year, but great overall season for him. Super happy for him. He’ll come back stronger for sure, but nothing too crazy.”

Asked about words of encouragement that may have been passed on from big bro to little bro, Andrew indicated his message was more on the candid side.

“I just told him to suck it up, he’ll be back,” he said. “Not much to say, just an injury.”

Before the setback, Ryan had started in every game for Creighton while averaging numbers that appear almost identical to the ones Andrew has posted in his second season at Gonzaga. Ryan finished his season in Omaha, Nebraska, averaging 11.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. Andrew enters the West Coast Conference tournament averaging 11.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg and 5.5 apg.

The Gonzaga guard, who was recently named a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award (nation’s top point guard), has an edge on his brother in shooting percentage, making 44% from the field, 33% from the 3-point line and 78% from the free-throw line. The first-year Creighton player shot 40%, 31% and 73% in those three categories.

“It’s part of the game, injuries are part of the game,” Andrew said. “A wrist injury is really not the worst possible injury you can have. It’s going to heal probably 100%. He’ll feel good coming back, so I think there was a lot of good things for him to look at as his freshman year, and I think he can build on it and I think this summer will be great for him to work on his game and just get better. So, all positive.”

In a media session earlier this week, Ryan told local reporters he worried he’d broken his wrist moments after his hand made contact with the chest of St. John’s guard Posh Alexander while Nembhard was trying to swipe a pass at midcourt. Ryan described it as the first major basketball injury he’s experienced, but was familiar with the specific diagnosis because Andrew had dealt with the same thing earlier in his career.

“My brother broke his wrist before and I could just tell the way it looked, it looked like it was either broken or dislocated,” Ryan said.

Ryan has been a major part of the Bluejays’ success during a season in which they’ve compiled a 20-9 record and sit in a relatively comfortable position to make a third consecutive appearance at the NCAA Tournament. Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology projections on ESPN.com have Creighton making the field as one of the “last four byes.”

Father Claude Nembhard traveled to Omaha from the family’s home in Ontario, Canada, to help Ryan in the days following his wrist surgery. Based on recent conversations between the brothers, Andrew suggested Ryan’s mood and outlook have improved in the nine days since the injury occurred.

“I talked to him that night. He was pretty disappointed that night,” Andrew said. “Obviously, because it’s just raw emotion right after the injury, but back to normal now just chopping it up, laughing. Back to normal brothers.”

Ryan will remain on the bench offering moral support as long as Creighton’s season lasts, but a wardrobe change may be in store if the Bluejays bow out early while the Zags – a projected No. 1 seed – make another deep NCAA Tournament run.

“I think he’s going to stay with them,” Andrew said, “but hopefully we go a little farther than they do so he can come watch us after.”