SPOKANE, Wash. — The NBA Combine ended on Friday, and overall it was a very successful stretch of days for Gonzaga players. However, maybe not so great for the program since the participants did so well overall.
Let's go through each of the Gonzaga players and where they stand after last week.
ANDREW NEMBHARD
Look, we all know Andrew is gone so this is more than a check in than anything.
He had 26 points and 11 assists in the lone scrimmage he played in and definitely helped his stock. In fact, I think there is no question after the combine that he’ll hear his name called during the draft.
He had great numbers in testing in terms of his quickness. His lane agility time of 10.46 seconds was second amongst 51 participants and his shuttle run time of 3.02 seconds placed him sixth. His vertical wasn’t so great at 26.5 inches. That was 42nd.
Moral of the story here is this: Andrew’s leaving and the combine was a rousing success for him.
DREW TIMME
Drew did not have a good combine in terms of testing. I’m not even going to list off his stats because he didn’t place higher than 41st in any physical testing category. However, none of this is really shocking. That kind of testing isn’t really his specialty, and, to be honest, he made sure that testing didn’t matter.
In the scrimmages the next two days, he combined for 34 points in 44 minutes of play, had a 69% shooting percentage, made all seven of his free throws, had a game he went 4 of 5 from three (Where was this all season?!) and had nine total rebounds. These scrimmages proved, at the very least, he could play with the best of the best of his peers. Will it translate to the NBA? That remains to be seen, but Timme certainly made himself more attractive to teams.
If I were to guess right now, I don’t think Timme comes back because he proved a lot over the last week. However, I do think he’ll still make more money in the college ranks next year than if he goes.
It comes down to this: Does Drew want to run it back, earn a huge paycheck, and stay in the familiar, or does he want to risk it and go pro?
JULIAN STRAWTHER
Let’s move on to Julian Strawther, who could be the most curious case of them all.
You won't see any scrimmage numbers from him here. Why? Well, last minute he decided to opt out of them. We’re going to get to what that could mean in just a bit, but first let’s go over the testing numbers.
Strawther placed first in the lane agility drill but somehow placed 48th in the shuttle run. He also did well in the off the dribble shooting drill, in which he shot 70% and tied for fifth amongst competitors. But like I said, no scrimmage stats.
There are two reasons why Strawther could’ve sat out of the scrimmage:
- He decided he’s coming back to Gonzaga
- He got a promise from a team to draft him
Let’s explore option two.
Considering Strawther isn’t on any draft boards right now, it’s safe to say that this would be a lower draft pick. The lower you are in the draft, the less money you make out of the gate. It may actually be more financially advantageous for Strawther to stay in school because he could definitely play his way into the lottery next year. Also, we’ve seen promises go wrong in the past where guys were left holding the bag on draft night.
If he did get a promise, Strawther has quite a decision to make.
If Julian decides not to return, I actually think that is the biggest blow to the program considering I believe he’s primed for a breakout year, and he’s primed to be the team's emotional leader next season.
All the guys have to make their decisions by June 1 by 8:59 PM PT on whether they are staying or going, so we’re going to know what this team looks like for next year sooner rather than later.
