Gonzaga shut out from individual WCC awards; Graham Ike, Ryan Nembhard, Anton Watson named to First Team

Ryan Nembhard didn’t have a vote, but Gonzaga’s point guard was willing to give Graham Ike his endorsement after Saturday’s regular-season finale at Saint Mary’s.

“WCC Player of the Year,” Nembhard said of Ike. “No doubt, in my opinion.”

The group of WCC coaches that submitted ballots felt differently, naming Saint Mary’s guard Augustas Marciulionis WCC Player of the Year after the junior led the Gaels to a regular-season conference title during a breakout individual season.

Marciulionis’ nod came as a surprise to some, particularly after Ike’s strong finish to the regular season – the junior forward averaged 23.2 points over Gonzaga’s final seven games – but it may not have been the most shocking development the all-conference awards released Tuesday .

Despite closing the season on an eight-game win streak to secure second place in the conference standings, the Zags were shut out of the WCC’s six individual awards for the first time since 2013-14.

Saint Mary’s claimed three of those, with Randy Bennett winning coach of the year and Mitchell Saxen winning defensive player of the year. Ike and Nembhard were strong candidates for newcomer of the year, but that honor went to San Francisco forward Jonathan Mogbo. Dons teammate Ryan Beasley captured freshman of the year and San Diego’s Deuce Turner won sixth man of the year.

Gonzaga still had a strong presence on the all-conference teams with Ike, Nembhard and forward Anton Watson all named to the 10-player first team. Guard Nolan Hickman was named to the second team and Braden Huff was named to the all-freshman team.

Ike and Nembhard, coveted transfers who joined Gonzaga’s program in the offseason, were thought to be candidates for both player and newcomer of the year after leading the Bulldogs to a 24-6 regular-season record. Those two have been at their best lately, helping guide Gonzaga to a trio of Quad 1 road wins – at Kentucky, San Francisco and Saint Mary’s.

Ike became the first Gonzaga player to score 20 points in seven straight games since Adam Morrison in 2005-06, closing the season as the WCC’s second-leading scorer at 16.7 points per game while ranking fourth in rebounding at 7.3 per game.

The junior was matched up with Mogbo in both of GU’s regular-season games against USF, outplaying the Missouri State transfer during a 77-72 win at the McCarthey Athletic Center and again in an 86-68 blowout at the Chase Center.

In six games against the top four teams in the WCC, Ike averaged 19.2 points on 54% shooting and 7.7 rebounds. Mogbo’s numbers against Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga and Santa Clara: 10.8 points on 46% shooting and 9.1 rebounds. The Gaels’ Marciulionis averaged 10.5 points on 37% shooting to go with 6.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds against that group.

Nembhard led the WCC in assists, averaging 6.4 per game, and earned all-conference honors two years after older brother Andrew was named to the first team following his second year at Gonzaga. Nembhard has had no fewer than six assists during GU’s eight-game win streak and has averaged 8.1 per game during that stretch.

In his fifth season, Watson earned All-WCC first-team honors for the first time in his career after averaging 14.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. The Gonzaga Prep product was the Bulldogs’ defensive anchor, finishing second in the WCC with 1.63 steals per game.

Hickman posted career numbers while earning all-conference honors for the first time. The Seattle native averaged 14.0 points and 2.7 assists while making 41% of shots from the 3-point line. Hickman led GU in 3-pointers made (68) and has averaged 3.4 per game during the team’s winning streak.

Coming off a redshirt season, Huff provided valuable minutes off GU’s bench and averaged 9.8 points on 61% shooting. The Illinois native earned WCC Freshman of the Week four times, more than any other player in the conference.

Other WCC first-team selections included Marciulionis, Saxen and Aidan Mahaney of Saint Mary’s; USF’s Mogbo and Marcus Williams; Santa Clara’s Adama Alpha-Bal and Pepperdine’s Michael Ajayi.

Along with Hickman, the second team features Alex Ducas of Saint Mary’s; San Diego’s Turner and Wayne McKinney III; and Portland’s Tyler Robertson.

Honorable mention selections included Joshua Jefferson of Saint Mary’s; Pepperdine’s Houston Mallette and Jevon Porter; Santa Clara’s Carlos Marshall Jr. and Christoph Tilly; Loyola Marymount’s Alex Merkviladze; and USF’s Ndewedo Newbury and Malik Thomas.

Huff was joined on the all-freshman team by USF’s Beasley; Santa Clara’s Jake Ensminger; Portland’s Tyler Harris and San Diego’s Kevin Patton Jr.