THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: For these Zags to compete, the shots need to help size

There must be a hundred young men who can stand 20-something feet from a hoop and swish endless shots.

No, a thousand.

Maybe a hundred thousand in such a big country.

Wait, let’s say a million if we’re counting the whole world.

These deadly shooters all have one thing in common.

They are NOT enrolled at Gonzaga.

Somehow, Mark Few and his staff have assembled a unique roster for the 2025-26 season.

The Zags already had big-time post scorers in Graham Ike and Braden Huff, along with maturing rim protector Ismaila Diagne.

They redshirted Braeden Smith, a point guard to succeed Ryan Nembhard, and Jalen Warley, a 6-foot-7 all-purpose athlete who arrived from Virginia.

Remember, too, that defensive whiz Emmanual Innocenti is still around, and could wind up starting alongside Smith.

Freshman Davis Fogle was the 34th-ranked member of this national prep class, and hopefully will fit right in.

Few has also landed transfers Adam Miller (Arizona State) and, just this week, Tyon Grant-Foster (Grand Canyon).

Grant-Foster will need an NCAA waiver to play, but they’re being handed out like candy these days.

TRUE TO the program, all these new Zags are listed at 6-7, they’re athletic, they can score at all three levels, and they have a reputation for playing defense.

We’ll wait and see on that last item.

It appears that Few and his staff have pulled together a gang of run-and-guard players who might wind up as the deepest team Gonzaga’s had in years.

However.

We’re back to shooting.

I’ve written several times about how much I hate the 3-point line, and how it’s changed basketball.

There are times when it feels like we’re watching a game of H-O-R-S-E instead of the sport Dr. James Naismith thought up when he had a bunch of spare peach baskets.

Whether I like 3-pointers or not, they decide a lot of high-level hoop games.

You need outside shooters for the points, obviously, but also to spread out defenses so that post threats (like Ike and Huff) can go to work down low.

The players mentioned so far can and will shoot 3-balls, likely with the same maddening inconsistency we endured last season.

Miller had a spectacular final season at Arizona State, hitting 44 per cent from deep.

But true to a new Gonzaga habit, that was a one-time thing.

Miller’s career 3-point shooting is closer to 33 per cent.

This all seems SO much like the last couple of years, when the stats truly looked decent. 

How?

Gonzaga smoked some bad teams at home, but numbers down the stretch against elite teams were distinctly chilly.

The Zags played nine games decided by seven points or less (or in overtime), and lost them all.

A 3-pointer here and there might have changed the whole season.

SO, NOW we creep along dark hallways and peek into abandoned rooms.

We’re looking for a mystery player.

It’s rumored that there really is a good outside shooter on the books at Gonzaga, but no one has ever seen him.

Whoa!

There.

That’s him.

Steele Venters.

You’re forgiven if the name escapes you, because Venters has never played a minute of basketball for the Zags.

But he dreams about it.

In fact, he’s had a lot of time for those dreams.

Venters transferred across the Spokane metro three years ago, coming to Gonzaga after being named Big Sky Player of the Year at Eastern Washington.

A native of Ellensburg, Wash., Steele said when he made the move that an in-state kid would ALWAYS want to play at Gonzaga.

He was bringing a 16.7 scoring average with him, and yes, a sizzling 43 per cent from 3-point range.

Unfortunately, Venters tore his ACL before that first season with the Zags.

He rehabbed like crazy, got fit and … ruptured his Achilles just prior to last season.

Just on a personal level, it’s a depressing story.

Although.

Venters is back again, having already fought his way through two full seasons with doctors, assorted medics and team trains.

This is the king of rehab.

When the Achilles was diagnosed, Few said he was sure that Venters would come back better and stronger.

OK, it’s time, and that would really help this year’s Zags.

Oh, and let’s not forget.

Venters meets the club criteria.

He’s 6-7.

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Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

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