THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Not everyone sees the Zags the way we do

The first preseason peaks at college hoops are out among us.

Ranking site Field of 68, now hooked up with On3, has a surprising message for you.

Gonzaga’s days as a national power are over.

This season’s Zags are just a bunch of guys who managed to find used uniforms.

I read about Field of 68’s rankings (Gonzaga is No. 24, and lucky to be THAT high) in Sports Illustrated.

Andy Patton, who wrote the story for SI — and also hosts the “Locked on Zags” podcast — took issue with several pieces of analysis regarding Mark Few’s team.

Let me quote Patton here.

“The (Field of 68) crew shared plenty of concern about this Gonzaga roster, pointing out flaws for eight of the team's projected rotation players.”

Wow!

I mean, Kraziness at the Kennel is just three weeks away (Oct. 4), and we need to know all these faults we’ll be seeing.

Let’s start out at the point.

"Braeden Smith has a chance to be good, but being an undersized, pass-first point guard in the Patriot League doesn’t guarantee that he’ll be able to have the same impact at this level," Field of 68 co-founder Rob Dauster wrote.

YES, I’M sure Smith hopes to have an “impact,” especially since he spent a year redshirting and learning the position from Ryan Nembhard.

Like, every day.

Gonzaga’s redshirting program has been an amazing success for years, so I’m guessing the odds are good that Smith will handle the job just fine.

You know, while I was drifting along, looking at the so-called faults throughout the roster, I thought back to watching a game.

It was several years ago.

Different sport.

Different country.

You know I’m a manic fan of Arsenal FC, the London-based soccer club which is perennially one of the 10 best in the world.

OK, I was living in Scotland at the time, and Arsenal happened to draw Glasgow Celtic in the European Champions League.

I was thrilled to be at the game, but also terrified.

We looked down our noses at the Scottish league (Celtic were the champions) and ALL my pals up in northern Scotland would rag me for life if Arsenal laid an egg in Glasgow.

Early in that game, one of the Celtic forwards broke free behind our defense, and it looked like a cinch that he’d be sailing in on goal all alone.

I felt terror for an awful moment.

Except.

One of our defenders — just an average Arsenal fullback — simply took off, made up 20 yards in the blink of an eye, and ran down the Celtic attacker. 

He never got within shooting distance.

In that moment, I realized there were no worries.

We just had better athletes at every position.

Dudes.

That’s what the gang at Field of 68 was missing when they kept finding fault with various Gonzaga players.

The Zags always have dudes,

NO, IT’S not time to predict a run to the Final Four, and then that wonderful first national title.

But it’s beyond crazy to suggest Few and his staff couldn’t recruit anyone worth a hoot, that their redshirts have been embarrassed during workouts, and that their returning stars have somehow lost all touch for the game over the past few months.

C’mon, be serious.

We haven’t seen transfers Adam Miller, Tyon Grant-Foster and Jalen Worley — nor 18-year-old Spanish sensation Mario Saint-Supery.

Even if they all have broken arms, though, the returning Zags still have plenty of bang-bang.

Graham Ike and Braden Huff both can score almost at will around the bucket.

Smith is a proven point guard, and Emmanuel Innocenti is ready to show off his athleticism at both ends of the court.

Oh, and twice-injured shooter Steele Venters can still turn his radar on the hoop from behind the arc.

Um, that’s a full team.

Probably a top-25 team.

And we haven’t mentioned a word about the newcomers.

Look, maybe the Field of 68 is right, and the Zags are only the 24th-best team in the land.

It’s possible.

Plus, the Zags will get no credit for playing a killer schedule.

It happens every year.

No. 24, then.

But they will be dudes.

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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.”