Hoops junkies will tell you that it’s never too soon to be thinking about next year.

And if you led the national championship game with just 101 seconds remaining?

In that case, peering ahead becomes almost mandatory.

So what will Gonzaga look like in the 2017-18 season, now that the program has officially been deemed part of college basketball’s elite?

Well, the Zags could be a lock near the top of the pile — or a mystery team that might, or might not, jell into something special.

Pretty much anyone who follows Gonzaga, and there a lot more folks in that category than just a few months ago, knows that a huge part of next season’s fate comes down to a pair of decisions.

Freshman center Zach Collins and junior guard Nigel Williams-Goss each have to decide whether to stay in Spokane or leave for the riches of the NBA.

Mock drafts have placed Collins anywhere from a lottery pick to the second round, while Williams-Goss’ stock is also a bit confusing. You can find him high in the second round on some boards and nowhere on others.

“These guys are both talented, and both question marks,” offered one Western Conference executive. “Collins is a fantastic athlete for a 7-footer, and he can shoot. But he hasn’t played enough and he doesn’t have an older player’s feel for the game, so you’re talking about a nice upside — but maybe a bit of a wait because he’s really not ready to play in the NBA.

“Are you going to use a high pick on a guy like that? Maybe it would depend on the team and whether they can be patient while he develops. But unless there’s a club like that who really commits to him long-term, I think he should play another year in college.”

Remember, Collins backed up senior Przemek Karnowski and while his minutes increased through the NCAA tournament when they occasionally played together, Zach is still at the learning-curve stage.

And Williams-Goss?

Contrary to what most Zag fans might believe, he’s probably closer to the NBA than Collins — despite having less upside over the long haul.

Scouts all like Williams-Goss’ court savvy, defense, leadership, ball-handling and various intangibles that would serve him well as, say, a backup point guard in the pro game.

They also unanimously feel he doesn’t have the explosion, the sheer athleticism needed to be a true impact player in the NBA.

“It’s kind of ironic,” said one scout. “If I were advising these guys, I’d tell Collins to stay another year at Gonzaga and work on all the subtle things he’s going to need.

“But Williams-Goss is pretty much as complete at age 23 as he’s going to be — so why not take the money now? The kid is not going to get more athletic.

“He’s been in college four years and he’s a finished product. Not a great NBA prospect, but a guy who could play in the league a long time.”

If these veteran NBA personnel people are correct, and the players involved actually listen to that particular advice, Gonzaga might wind up losing its point guard and unquestioned leader — but hang on to an exciting young center who could be a dominating force as next season rolls along.

Given the returning nucleus, the Zags actually need Collins more than Williams-Goss.

There already has been a hint that Williams-Goss understands what’s best for him.

Looking back on a 37-2 season that ended with a heartbreaking loss to North Carolina in the title game, Williams-Goss said: “It just kind of left the door open for the next group of Zags to come in and do something that we were not able to do.”

That statement definitely has a good-bye feel to it.

REGARDLESS OF what Collins and Williams-Goss decide, the Zags will be good.

Maybe not great if both stars leave, but still a regional power and maybe more than that.

It’s also worthwhile to remember that this Final Four team, with all its new faces, was a complete mystery last October.

Gonzaga has mastered the art of building outstanding teams through various sources, and nothing suggests that will change.

As for what a new lineup might look like, anyone can take some wild guesses and have a chance to nail it.

Or be completely wrong.

Certainly Johnathan Williams and Killian Tillie will be major factors up front, with Silas Melson and Josh Perkins — along with talented redshirt freshman Zach Norvell Jr. — keeping the backcourt in good shape.

Norvell Jr., who came out of Chicago Simeon with a fantastic reputation at both ends of the floor, redshirted for two reasons — a bum knee that was surgically repaired (coaches say he’s now about 90 percent and will be good to go next season) and the arrival of graduate transfer Jordan Mathews.

It’s interesting, though, that Norvell Jr. — well short of true fitness — scored 18 points in the Zags’ exhibition win over Georgia State last November.

“I’ve been watching and learning from some great players,” Norvell Jr. said of his redshirt experience. “Practicing and traveling with these guys has prepared me for the highest level of college ball.

“I needed some weight work on my lower body anyway, so the year probably helped. But now I’m ready to play Gonzaga basketball.”

Like most of the Zags, the 6-foot-5 Norvell Jr. will be tall for his shooting guard position and he has a long wingspan, so Gonzaga’s suffocating defense may not suffer on the perimeter.

MEANWHILE, THE Zags may once again dip into the transfer market if the right sort of player pops up — that run to the Final Four certainly didn’t hurt Mark Few’s chances of finding someone who’s looking for the right fit — but there are some intriguing players already on campus.

Rui Hachimura, a 6-8 wing player who didn’t see much action as a freshman, has the coaches smiling. They also could get a huge boost from 6-11 redshirt freshman Jacob Larsen, who came in as a highly regarded prospect but needed surgery on a torn ACL.

Like Norvell Jr., Larsen not only healed during his redshirt year but did a lot of weight work. He was listed at 227 pounds on the Zags roster, but might have been a little shy of that.

It would be a massive boost if Larsen can develop at center, whether Collins returns or not.

Tillie is athletic at 6-10, but still somewhat too thin for brutal board work. He got pushed around by North Carolina’s heavyweights in the last minutes of the first half when both Karnowski and Collins had to sit with two fouls each, giving the Tar Heels a chance to creep back within three points after a half in which the Zags had clearly looked like the better team.

If Collins leaves, Williams probably will have to play center. That’s hardly an ideal situation — so any decent minutes from Larsen would be golden.

Assuming Collins departs, Few and his staff surely will accept phone calls from any talented 7-foot transfer candidates.

Plenty of teams, though, have had huge success without a superstar in the middle.

Gonzaga won’t be small, by any means, and Melson and Perkins already have shown they are good rebounding guards.

THERE ALSO are two incoming freshmen, and both make you wonder if they might play rather than sit a year.

Corey Kispert, a 6-6 wing from Seattle, seems suited to what surely will be an up-tempo team, and then there’s Jesse Wade.

The Zags have waited two years for Wade, who averaged 30 points per game as the Utah player of the year in 2015 — then departed on a Mormon mission to France.

Wade appears to be the poor man’s Steph Curry. He’s only 6-1 and 170, but extremely quick and shifty, with the ability to shoot accurately from anywhere inside the building.

Wade also went on his mission early so he’d have a few months to get back into game shape.

How Few matches all these parts after he learns about the Collins and Williams-Goss decisions (and decides whether to hunt down a transfer or two) will truly be interesting.

It’s hard to imagine the puzzle pieces will fall together as they did this season — but please remember nobody believed that group would be playing in the national title game, either, so…

The Zags will be good.

But how? And with whom?

Sorry, but those answers are a few months away.