Hey, coach, you wanna know how to beat Gonzaga?

Here’s the plan …

Make up a whole bunch of cards and hang them around the necks of the Zags guards and forwards.

Have this message engraved on each one …

“You are cordially invited to shoot uncontested 3-pointers. As a courtesy, we will not bother or harass you. Just fire away.

“Enjoy!”

Yes, I’m being just a little bit chippy here, but I presume you get the point.

Gonzaga has everything else: Height, speed, athleticism, defensive prowess, unbelievable depth, great ballhandling — just about the whole package for a super basketball team.

Except …

I know, I know, we’re looking at a small sample size, but just using the “eye test,” some of these guys don’t look like comfortable 3-point shooters.

YEP, WE’VE seen that Julian Strawther (5 for 10 in two games so far) seems confident and happy to let fly from behind the arc — and belief is a huge part of shooting the rock.

Julian’s trigger from deep shouldn’t be a surprise, since he’s never met a shot he didn’t like.

He’d try one from the parking lot if the rules allowed it.

Then, of course, 7-foot-1 Chet Holmgren was advertised as deadly from outside in addition to his other “unicorn” gifts, and Chet is already 3 for 4 from downtown.

We’re kind of assuming here, however, that Holmgren will be busy with other tasks a bit closer to the basket.

Unfortunately, the rest of the Zags look like the cast of “The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight.”

If you’re the kind of person who worries about such things, you might be fretting slightly that No. 1 point guard Andrew Nembhard is zero-for-eight on 3-pointers — which is odd, because he looks good shooting them.

I played this game, though, and I can tell you that when you go cold, it gets harder and harder to unlock the ice box.

The problem is that you start thinking too much, and even wondering if you should pass up a shot and kick the ball to somebody else.

Nembhard absolutely MUST take that 3-pointer from the top of the key, and so must freshman point guard Nolan Hickman (1 for 6 so far).

The Zags have to spread the offense and give Drew Timme, Holmgren, Kaden Perry and Anton Watson room to deal inside.

NOW, YOU could argue …

The Zags were not a good 3-point shooting team a year ago, and went 31-1.

Two caveats there …

They were not terrific as a team, but Corey Kispert and Joel Ayayi covered a lot of blushes by shooting 44 and 39 percent from outside — thus creating lots and lots of room for everyone else to work.

Oh, and the Zags’ lone loss, that 86-70 nightmare against Baylor in the national title game …

The Bears hit 10 of 23 tries from behind the arc, stifling every potential Gonzaga rally, while the Zags managed only 5 of 17 from deep.

I’m no math major, but that works out to a 15-point difference, and the final deficit was, uh, 16.

Bottom line, if you’re going to be the best team in the country — and hope to win the NCAA tournament that has barely eluded Gonzaga in two of the past four finals — there will be a game (or games, plural) when you have to hit 3-point shots.

The funny thing about last year is that the Zags buried both Iowa and Virginia under the hailstorm of long balls.

But their overall numbers — as a team, they shot 33 percent for the season — eventually came back to bite them.

Now …

All is not lost on the long-range shooting front this year.

I still think Nembhard and Hickman can dial it in. If soph Dominick Harris can recover from his foot surgery, he has a gorgeous 3-point stroke.

Then there’s Strawther, obviously.

And hey …

The Unicorn.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

He also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball which is published weekly during the season.