The No. 8 Gonzaga Bulldogs and No. 18 UConn Huskies will star in the toughest matchup of Saturday night’s slate. Needless to say, all eyes will be set on their 8:00 pm date.
We’re talking about two of the strongest programs in all of college basketball, and while the AP Rankings show a big gap between them, it shouldn’t be like that once the ball hits the deck.
Moreover, there will be more at stake than just their record or bragging rights. Dan Hurley knows that he needs to stop Gonzaga star G Ryan Nembhard to honor his brother.
Dan Hurley vows to protect his brother’s record from Ryan Nembhard
Nembhard is currently averaging a whopping 10.7 assists per game. With that in mind, Hurley talked about slowing him down to make sure he doesn’t break his brother’s record:
“His speed and the offense that he generates for his team, and he’s assisting at such an incredibly high rate that I had my people just check to make sure he couldn’t catch my brother [former Duke Blue Devils point guard Bobby Hurley, who owns the NCAA men’s all-time assists record with 1,076 assists],” the coach said.
The coach then broke down Nembhard’s game and numbers, and while he knows his brother’s record might not be within reach, he has to do his part to limit his playmaking opportunities:
“I saw he’s averaging double-figures in assists … but it looks like Bob’s safe, unless [Nembhard]’s got a COVID year or something potentially. But yeah, he’s one of the best point guards in the country,” Hurley added. “He creates all types of problems for you in transition, in the ball-screen game and his ability to put pressure into defense. But overall they have a great, great offense.”
Of course, slowing down a player like Nembhard will be way easier said than done. But if someone can crack down the code, that might definitely be Dan Hurley.