OK, Zag World, on the count of three …

One.

Two.

Three …

EXHALE!!

That’s just about the way it went Wednesday night, with Gonzaga fans from here to Mongolia watching the countdown and waiting for the man with college basketball’s best-known mustache to make a decision.

At last, just about a half-hour before the 8:59 p.m. deadline for players to remove themselves from the NBA draft or lose all NCAA eligibility, Drew Timme took to Twitter for the shortest statement of his career.

Maybe the shortest of his life.

“I’m back,” he tweeted.

What it lacked in length or Timme’s trademark humor, that two-word chunk of news managed to remove most (but not quite all) suspense concerning the Gonzaga roster for the 2022-23 season.

At the time of Timme’s declaration, Zags fellow starters Rasir Bolton and Julian Strawther already had removed themselves from the NBA process — although Strawther admitted that he hadn’t been sure of his plans until about 7:30 in the morning on Deadline Day.

With Bolton, Strawther and Timme back in the fold, Gonzaga is once again, well …

Loaded.

IN FACT, one more dude is headed to Spokane, and another could.

If both decide to hang around to play some ball, the Zags likely could trot out the deepest team that Mark Few has enjoyed in two-plus decades of non-stop NCAA tournament excitement.

Spanish prospect Baba Miller — I hope he signs just so I can type that name a lot — is a 6-10 stretch forward who probably should be classified as a work in progress.

Call him a talent on the order of a young Rui Hachimura, more or less.

The committed newcomer is just the opposite, a proven Division I scorer and rebounder.

Malachi Smith, a 6-4 guard from Chattanooga who averaged 19.9 points per game last season, was reported as a “cinch” to land in Spokane after being beamed up through the transfer portal.

The analysts who made that call, however, tossed Smith onto the Gonzaga roster before Bolton made his decision to come back.

With Smith, the Zags will be spoiled for guards — considering that Dominick Harris (out last year after foot surgery) figures to play along with Bolton, Nolan Hickman and Hunter Sallis.

If all goes according to Few’s dreams, you might expect Harris and Hickman to inherit Andrew Nembhard’s point guard spot in some sort of rotation.

Anton Watson adds experience and toughness up front, while freshman Jaden Huff brings obvious talent to that role (you don’t become Mr. Basketball in Illinois without serious game).

NOW WE come to the post, where I honestly believe Gonzaga perhaps can separate itself from the nation’s other top teams.

You surely are thinking of Timme here, but I’m more concerned with a couple of big gentlemen who can give Drew a chance to be almost unstoppable as a scorer — and to support him with rim protection on defense.

In truth …

As much as I like both players and see the obvious skills in each, Timme and Chet Holmgren did not mesh the way everyone hoped — mostly because Holmgren does not make his offensive home in the low post.

The two were fine together on defense, but Chet’s skills handling and shooting often drew him away from the basket in what sometimes was a disjointed halfcourt attack.

That left Timme alone to face double- and triple-teams in the lane.

This may sound like heresy, but Timme and the Zags actually could be closer to a national championship contender with Holmgren gone to the NBA.

IT WILL depend, I think, on two rim bangers who — along with Watson — can take a lot of pressure off Timme, while doing some damage of their own.

They also could make Gonzaga a FAR more physical team than we’ve seen since the 2017 gang got robbed by the officials in the national title game against North Carolina.

The big boys in the spotlight here are Efton Reid III, a 7-foot, 238-pound transfer from LSU who played in all 34 games as a freshman.

Reid wasn’t the Tigers’ primary offensive target, and averaged only 6.3 points per game in a shade over 19 minutes — but he was a 5-star recruit coming out of high school and retains a huge upside.

Better yet, Reid won’t be wandering far from the hoop, as his total of 3-pointers (five) should tell you.

And then …

We have a classic comeback possibility in Kaden Perry, the 6-9, 225-pound leaper from Battle Ground, Wash., who arrived in Spokane with shot-blocking skills that reminded everyone of a beefier Brandon Clarke.

Unfortunately, back problems that first surfaced in high school got to Perry after just eight games into his first season at Gonzaga.

Perry has since undergone what doctors believe was successful surgery, and Kaden insists he’ll be ready for the Zags’ preseason work.

Here’s my take (feel free to clip and save) …

Gonzaga will be terrific or better at the guard spots, with plenty of depth and various talents on the wing.

And of course …

Timme is Timme.

So …

If Reid or Perry (or both) can get meaningful, physical work done around the hoop, this could be pretty close to a complete team.

Don’t get too far up or down early, though, because this gang will need to grow together.

If it happens, though …

Hoo, boy!

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week. He also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball which is published monthly during the offseason, and weekly beginning in October.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”