Georgia coach on Gonzaga's Ryan Nembhard: 'Surgeon of a passer'

Georgia Bulldogs coach Mike White knows all about the Nembhard family.

Andrew Nembhard, now with the Indiana Pacers, started his college career at Florida in 2018 when White was coaching the Gators. The native of Aurora, Ont., eventually transferred to Gonzaga to finish his college career.

Ryan Nembhard followed in his older brother's footsteps, transferring to Gonzaga from Creighton.

Now, the Gonzaga star point guard and his eighth-seeded team match up against White and No. 9 seed Georgia in the March Madness opener for both teams on Thursday in Wichita, Kan.

White was asked Wednesday how long he's known Ryan Nembhard.

"Oh, a long time. I would have to get the calculator out," he said. "I've been around him since he was a young player. Seen him play a bunch. Big fan of his game. Big fan of his older brother's game, of course.

"We talk about our team's toughness and resilience. Both he and his brother have that. They just do. It's been fun studying him these past 72 hours or so. We're all college basketball fans, and you've watched him over the years, but the more you watch him, the more you appreciate how tough he is, how smart he is, how he makes everyone around him better."

The six-foot senior led the NCAA in assists this season (9.8 average) while also averaging 10.8 points.

Gonzaga is in the tournament for a 26th time in a row, but had some up-and-down moments this season before elevating its game to win the West Coast Conference title. Georgia is one of a record 14 times from the stacked Southeastern Conference in the tournament.

"... They've got arguably the best passer in college basketball in Nembhard," White said. "He's just an unbelievably quick thinker and surgeon of a passer, sees things before they happen, makes everyone around him better. Good speed, good player. Just a really, really good player. He makes those guys better."