Ryan Nembhard: Point Guard of the Year Tracker

Over the weekend, Ryan Nembhard broke his own single-season assists record for the Gonzaga Bulldogs at 245. He set this pace last season at 244. Of course, to mainstream media outlets like ESPN, FOX, and CBS, breaking a team season record is not high on the newsworthy lists these days. But Nembhard needs to start getting recognized for what he is, and that is clearly the best pure point guard in basketball. Last week, I wrote about him making the finalists list for the award, and then not even two games later, he is breaking records (btw, John Stockton went to Gonzaga, so this isn't to be taken lightly). Also ALL TIME good guy, stayed after to take photos with fans who traveled to watch him break the record on the road.

Now, let's take a deeper look into this. According to Wikipedia, Avery Johnson...yes, the former NBA and college coach has the all-time single-season record of 399. This puts Nembhard currently 153 short of tying and, of course, 154 to break it. Ryan currently averages 9.8 assists a game. At that clip, he would need roughly 15 games to tie or break the record. So is this possible? Simple answer: ehhh, maybe. He has six remaining guaranteed regular-season games, then possibly two or three in the conference tournament, with the potential of six more, of course, if they make the Big Dance. So hence the "maybe," with all the "possibles" that lie ahead of him. But let's see this...the next highest behind the 399 is 333, a number that should be very reachable.

This historical season should not go unnoticed, as Nembhard, as I laid out last week, should be the clear frontrunner for Point Guard of the Year. In many ways, he could even be in the National Player of the Year conversation, as without him, Gonzaga would not be in the running for a spot in the NCAA tournament this spring. Yes, his scoring numbers aren't flashy, but to be top 10 in assists and double-doubles...also, not to mention the next highest assist leader is 35 behind him...should show you enough that he is among the elite of college basketball. Now that all the casuals can come on over from football ending, this Thursday, take a lil' power nap and tune in late night to see the nation's best point guard battle it out with another top mid-major program, San Francisco (who actually have a national championship) on ESPN.

Bet Recap: COOPER DEJEAN! His pick made for a very good night for our betting brand!

Bet of the Day

02-10

Rudy Goebert OVER 23.5 Pts & Reb

Cole Anthony OVER 11.5 pts

Paolo Banchero OVER 4.5 asts

Odds: +331 (DK had a no sweat NBA bet, so if you want to play it safe and bet straight I understand)