THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: For Kispert, should he stay or go?

Corey Kispert is stuck in limbo.

So is Gonzaga.

Coach Mark Few could be looking at the deepest and most talented team he’s ever greeted when the Zags eventually gather on campus later this summer.

Or not.

For the Zags to be at full strength…

First, the scourge of COVID-19 will have to be controlled enough for the university to open in some relatively normal fashion.

Gonzaga and its partners in the West Coast Conference all have plans to welcome students back to campus this fall, but we’ve seen what can happen in situations like this.

Assuming the entire Zags roster is given a hearty welcome to return, there’s the obvious question of whether some may decline.

Kispert, Filip Petrusev and Joel Ayayi all have declared for the NBA draft.

The league originally was going to hold that draft on the 25th of this month, and today would have been the deadline for players to opt out.

As we all know, however, both the draft and the day of decision have been moved back.

Indefinitely.

IT’S THAT last word that puts Gonzaga and other schools in such a bind.

Kispert is the most likely of the Zags to be a candidate for the NBA — not counting grad Killian Tillie, who will be a first-round selection if he can prove he’s healthy.

Petrusev is a post-up center, a position the pros are slowly phasing out of offenses that value players who can operate all over the court. The one skill that’s still valued under the bucket is rim protection, and Filip is not a true shot-blocker.

Ayayi is athletic enough to run, jump and shoot with the pros, but he needs serious work on his ball-handling and team defense.

I’d be shocked if either Petrusev or Ayayi stayed in the draft — unless they’re nervous about the situation on campus (or playing in empty gyms), and decided to use the NBA draft experience to find them roster spots in Europe.

But Kispert?

He’s very MUCH an all-court player, a study 6-7 shooter who is basically made for today’s pro game.

Kispert has been told by NBA scouts and executives that he’d probably be drafted in the second round, downgraded a bit because he’s done very little ball-handling in college and he also needs the skills to defend against what Corey has called “the best players in the world.”

It’s true that Kispert could improve his stock with another year in college, he loves Gonzaga and would be thrilled to play on a team with a preseason No. 1 ranking.

Still, there is the uncertainty of the coming season, not to mention the issue of risking his health with a season of hard-knocks basketball.

FEW WANTS the best for his players, always, so if the pros (pun intended) outweigh the cons for Corey Kispert staying in the NBA draft…

His coach will become his most enthusiastic cheerleader.

The problem for Few and his staff, though, is this business of prolonging the wait to see what his underclassmen will do with the option of turning pro.

The delay is particularly difficult to handle in Kispert’s case — and not simply because the Zags would have to replace Corey’s 14 points and 4 rebounds per game (not to mention 44 percent shooting from 3-point range).

Kispert would be the unquestioned leader of these talented new Zags, a four-year contributor who could provide the glue between Gonzaga’s recent terrific seasons and a serious run at the one thing — a national championship — that has eluded the program.

There is no natural successor for Kispert’s position, either, at least not in the short term.

Soph Anton Watson will be returning after his shoulder miseries last season, but he is nowhere near Kispert’s level as a shooter.

Freshman Julian Strawther is also 6-7 and looks like a natural scorer, but he doesn’t have Kispert’s strength or experience.

The Zags will be somewhere between very good and spectacular this year.

The difference?

It’s likely to be whether or not Corey Kispert sticks around.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. “Moments, Memories and Madness,” his reminiscences from several decades as a sports journalist, runs each Sunday.

Steve also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball, once per month during the offseason.