THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: The start, well, sort of

What comes to mind when you think of sports pay per view?

How about a couple of musclebound, oiled-up, tattooed dudes in a cage, characters pretty intent on killing each other?

The event you are NOT likely to imagine is a Gonzaga hoops game.

But …

Here we go on Friday night, as the Zags (sort of) begin a season of incredible promise in the Legends of Basketball Classic — a potentially fun rodeo that’s officially considered an exhibition game against Tennessee.

There are all sorts of eyebrow-raisers concerning this opener in Frisco, Texas — which supposedly isn’t a real game.

That is, the result won’t “technically” count for either team, but putting the Zags (ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press preseason poll) on the court against the No. 11 Vols, well …

It’s tough to “un-see” a basketball game.

That makes you wonder if rankings — or NCAA tournament seedings later in the year — might be slightly affected by how this non-game actually shakes out.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the price for this exhibition is $9.99, tip-off is 6 p.m. and the simplest way to order is through ppv.com.

Nothing comes free these days, but you knew that.

IT WOULD be easy to make a couple of jokes about the staging of this game — which actually replaces those closed-door “scrimmages” that teams have played in the past.

Still, some pieces of the event really do matter in different ways.

The most important thing is that a huge chunk of the proceeds will go to the McLendon Foundation, a charity worth helping.

The McLendon Foundation was established in 1999 by National Association of Collegiate Directors of America (NACDA) to honor the legacy of Hall of Fame coach John McLendon — a pioneer in the field of athletics, the game of basketball, and the entire area of civil rights.

The McLendon Foundation’s mission is to empower and develop minorities who aspire to be principled leaders in athletics administration, by providing educational resources and access to a life-long community of mentors.

All by itself, helping the foundation is worth 10 bucks.

My only question is whether this game — or any other marquee college matchup — couldn’t be staged in the regular season.

There’s money swishing around in those Las Vegas showdowns, the PK85 in Portland (where the Zags play this season) and at tournaments like the Maui Invitational.

Why not a McLendon Match, in Frisco or anywhere else, with a game that counts?

THE OTHER “real” piece of Friday night’s exhibition is all about a peek ahead to the season.

It’ll be our first look at the talented, versatile Zags against actual competition.

Mark Few’s gang goes about 10 deep, and there have been some scrimmages at the Volkar Center that various players have described as “brutal.”

Few actually said that these practice court battles remind him of the 2017 team — which would be no bad thing, since those Zags led North Carolina inside the final two minutes of the national championship game.

Back to the present …

The Zags are certainly going to absorb a physical and exhausting test against Tennessee on Friday.

Rick Barnes’ Vols were 27-8 a year ago, lost star Kennedy Chandler, but return every other starter (including 3-point sniper Santiago Vescovi) from a tournament team that was knocked out in the second round.

Gonzaga, of course, brings back All-America Drew Timme and fellow starters Julian Strawther and Rasir Bolton.

The focus in this opening scrap, though, will be on returning backup guards Nolan Hickman (who figures to inherit the critical point guard role) and Hunter Sallis, along with incoming transfers Malachi Smith and Efton Reid III (a 7-foot, 245-pound bruiser from LSU).

The 6-4, 215-pound Smith was the Southland Conference player of the year at Chattanooga, and almost certainly will be involved in starter-level minutes.

Zags fans also want to see 6-10 freshman Braden Huff, the Illinois prep Mr. Basketball (not exactly a lightweight honor, considering the talent in Chicago and Peoria), along with returning forward Anton Watson, and now-healthy big man Kaden Perry.

There’s more: Soph Ben Gregg has bulked up and been throwing himself around in workouts, and sharpshooting guard Dominick Harris — who missed all last season after foot surgery — is finally back and practicing.

This may be an exhibition, but it will give us some serious clues about the Zags, and how Few intends to use his incredible depth.

Toss in the meaningful work of the McLendon Foundation, and yeah …

It would be $9.99 well spent.

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press each Tuesday through Friday.

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