OMAHA, Neb. – Creighton mens basketball has signed a pair of guards to a letter-of-intent, adding John Christofilis and Ryan Nembhard to the program for the 2021-22 season.
Christofilis is a 64″ shooting guard from ODea High School in Seattle, Washington. Nembhard hails from Aurora, Ontario, Canada and stands 61″. The point guard currently plays for Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla.
“We are thrilled to add Ryan Nembhard and John Christofilis to our basketball program,” said Creighton head coach Greg McDermott. “First and foremost both young men are of high character. Additionally, they have skills to flourish in our up-tempo system. Ryans ability to make other players better and Johns ability to stretch the floor will help us immediately in our quest to compete for BIG EAST Championships. Both players come from elite high school programs and top-notch club programs. They have been developed and coached at an elite level and they have competed for and won championships. We cannot wait for them to get to campus and join their teammates.”
John Christofilis
- A 64″ shooting guard from ODea High School in Seattle, Washington.
- Regarded as a three-star prospect, and No. 206 overall by 247Sports Composite rankings.
- Averaged 12 points, six rebounds and three assist per game as a junior, shooting 45 percent from three-point range and 88 percent from the charity stripe.
- Named to All-Metro League Second Team as a junior, as he helped the Fighting Irish to the state title game.
- High school team won a state title his sophomore year, though he missed the end of the season due to injury.
- Verbally committed to Creighton in September of 2020.
- Also received recruiting interest from Washington, Colorado, Washington State and Oregon State.
- Coached by Jason Kerr at ODeah High School and by Carl Howell in AAU with Washington Supreme.
Ryan Nembhard
- A 61″ point guard from Aurora, Ontario, Canada, he currently attends Montverde High School in Montverde, Fla.
- A four-star recruit who verbally committed to Creighton in June of 2020.
- Ranked as the No. 109 recruit by 247Sports, and the 16th best point guard prospect.
- Montverde Academy team went 25-0 last year after going 20-3 his sophomore campaign.
- Had been set to play internationally with the Under-17 Canadian National Team this summer.
- Helped Team Canada to a runner-up finish at the FIBA U16 Americas Championship in Brazil in 2019, when he averaged 14.3 points and 9.0 assists per game.
- Scored 21 points and nine rebounds in the Gold Medal Game vs. the United States to finish as tournament leader in assists.
- Also offered by Florida, Ohio State, Seton Hall, Stanford and USC.
- Montverde Academy was year-end No. 1 team in USA Todays Top 25 poll in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2018 and prominent former players include Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Cade Cunningham, DAngelo Russell and R.J. Barrett.
- Coached at Montverde Academy by Kevin Boyle and with U-Play Canada on AAU circuit by Dwayne Washington and his father, Claude Nembhard.
- Brother, Andrew, started all 67 games at Florida the past two seasons before transferring to Gonzaga earlier this summer.
Ranked No. 11 in the preseason Associated Press poll, Creighton is scheduled to open the 2020-21 season on Nov. 25 when it takes on South Dakota State in Sioux Falls, S.D., as part of the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic.
