Point guard Andrew Nembhard's 194 assists ranked fifth in the Southeastern Conference and marked the second-most by a freshman in school history.
Nembhard Turns Focus Back to Gators
Thursday, June 6, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Andrew Nembhard is back in Canada for a few more weeks, enjoying what's left of his offseason break and, meanwhile, reveling in the run by his Toronto Raptors.
No, he won't be courtside with Drake.
"I wish," Nembhard said Wednesday from his home in Aurora, Ontario. "It's crazy here. Never seen it like this before."
Consider it all just another significant happening in Nembhard's life since wrapping up his freshman year of college. An incredibly whirlwind life, by the way.
The 6-foot-5, 192-pound point guard announced last week that he would return to UF for his sophomore season after spending most of the previous eight weeks swimming in the NBA Draft underclassmen pool before taking his name out of the mix in the hours before the May 28 deadline. Nembhard, who was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team after averaging 8.0 points and finishing fifth in league in assists at 5.4 per game, soaked up everything about his time with NBA executives, coaches and scouts -- and loved every second of it.
"I wouldn't necessarily say I'm glad that it's over, but I'm definitely happy I went through it and got to experience it all," said Nembhard, whose clutch, buzzer-beating 3-pointer to upset regular-season league champion LSU in the SEC Tournament not only was the biggest play of the season, but basically put the Gators in the NCAA Tournament. "I learned a lot of stuff about the process and what I need to improve on, as well as what teams like about me. I got some great feedback from teams who were very optimistic about how my game will translate to the league a few years from now. I got to compete against some great players and think I got better over the last month just by going through the process and working out with my trainers."
In addition to participating in the G-League Combine last month in Chicago, Nembhard was invited to team workouts with the Raptors, Pistons, Kings, Hawks and Sixers.
Nembhard, 19, left his toe-dipping pro experience with nothing but positive vibes relative to what lies ahead — when that time comes, that is. But for now, it's the 2019-20 Florida season that has Nembhard's attention, and the run-up to it all begins with the start of the Summer "B" session later this month.
He was the only UF player who started all 36 games last season — the first freshman to do so at Florida since Bradley Beal in 2012 — but eventually was joined in the starting unit by two talented classmates, shooting guard Noah Locke and forward Keyontae Johnson, both of whom flashed big-time moments during UF's 20-16 season on the way to a third straight NCAA Tournament berth. Those three second-year players make up the nucleus of productivity on a club that also returns backup power forwards Dontay Bassett and Isaiah Stokes, plus 6-foot-11 center Gorjok Gak, who missed the entire season recovering from knee surgery.
Now roll in a top-10 incoming freshman class that is five players deep, highlighted by a pair of 2019 McDonald's All-Americans in New Jersey small forward Scottie Lewis and homegrown Gainesville combo guard Tre Mann, plus another top-50 prospect in 6-9 power forward Omar Payne, and there's a lot to be excited about as far as expectations and fresh faces.
That's where Nembhard comes in. His imprint, with the ball and without it, needs to be all over this team.
"We're expecting a lot of Andrew, of course, both on the floor and from a leadership standpoint off the court," UF coach Mike White said.
Guess what? Nembhard is expecting exactly the same the thing.
Andrew Nembhard goes no-look against Butler in the Battle 4 Atlantis at the Bahamas last season.
The '18-19 Gators may have been senior center Kevarrius Hayes' team, but as the season progressed — especially in the final weeks — Nembhard stepped out of his comfort zone and became a second voice in the locker room. In fact, when that voice began to speak more often, Nembhard's teammates responded to it and even encouraged it to get louder.
Currently, there are three players enrolled in Summer "A." When the rest of the squad reports back for Summer "B" on June 30 there will be no mistaking whose team it is.
"I'm going to take that to another level this season, what with all the new guys coming in," Nembhard said of his leadership. "I've seen some of these guys play and I think we've got a really good group of hungry competitive dudes who will set a good tone in practice and take us into the season. I'm going to demand from them what it takes to win. I've won on every level of basketball in my life and [last] year taught me what it takes to win at the college level."
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