THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Playing good teams is exposing Zags' warts

A truly handsome streak died this week.

Gonzaga had been ranked at No. 10 or above in 83 consecutive editions of the weekly Associated Press men’s basketball poll.

Pretty amazing, honestly.

But …

That 84-66 thumping at the hands of a talented Purdue team in the semifinals of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament, however, convinced voters that the Zags deserved nothing higher than the 14th spot this week.

A combination of wildly inconsistent play and a schedule disguised as a gauntlet has left Gonzaga at 5-2 so far — with a 19-point hammering at Texas to go along with that loss to Purdue.

The new-look Zags, trying to find the correct puzzle pieces after losing Andrew Nembhard and Chet Holmgren to the NBA, opened the season at No. 2 in the AP’s preseason poll — but they fell to No. 6 after the Texas chainsaw massacre, and finally …

Yep, right on out of the top 10 following the loss to Purdue.

Gonzaga hasn’t been stuck down there in the land of “good but not great” teams — not even for a week — in four-plus years.

IF YOU don’t believe the schedule is a factor in this reloading process in Spokane, well, Texas is No. 2 in the current poll (behind Houston) and Purdue checked in at No. 5.

And even as the Zags search for a new identity, they DO already have victories in the bag over No. 19 Kentucky and No. 20 Michigan State.

Oh, and by the way, No. 6 Baylor is on deck tonight in one of those made-for-streaming games staged in South Dakota.

Gonzaga also faces No. 11 Alabama (6-0) on Dec. 17 in Birmingham.

It’s more than fair to say Mark Few’s gang will be battle-tested by the time they open WCC play against Pepperdine in The Kennel on New Year’s Eve afternoon.

There is a huge question hanging over this team, however …

How much better can it be during conference play, and then in the NCAA tournament?

The only newcomer who is seeing significant minutes is Chattanooga transfer guard Malachi Smith — and even then, Smith is a big-bodied guy who can overpower some backcourt players, but doesn’t look quite quick enough to handle fast, “twitchy” ball-handlers.

Seven-foot transfer Efton Reid III, brought in from LSU to give Drew Timme some help defending the paint, so far hasn’t appeared athletic enough (or to possess the footwork) necessary to do that job without landing in foul trouble.

It's well to remember, though, that several big men have developed dramatically from season to season in the Gonzaga program, and Reid is still just a sophomore.

While we’re on the subject of interior play, one pleasant surprise has been increasing minutes for soph Ben Gregg, who has gained some weight and muscle — and doesn’t mind throwing it around.

Gregg also has a decent touch from outside in addition to catching on to team defense concepts, and it appears that Few now is considering the rugged kid from Oregon a regular member of his “game rotation.”

If he can add something meaningful in and around the paint, Gregg could be a critical addition going forward.

IT’S TOUGH to imagine what this Gonzaga team might look like by mid-February — let alone at tournament time in March.

The combination of so many new pieces, and one game after another against talented teams who seem to be playing in midseason form, has likely made the Zags look a bit more overmatched than they’ll be a month or two from now.

“Look, these are good players,” said ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, “but you can’t just throw Nolan Hickman out there at point guard in place of Nembhard — and just toss him the keys.

“This is going to take some time, but Few will find the right answers. A coach who has never missed the NCAA tournament in 20-some years knows what he’s doing.”

To keep this very basic, the Zags’ problems have cropped up with turnovers, perimeter defense, and inconsistent offense.

For instance, some numbers can fool you.

Gonzaga has hit a terrific 40.7 from 3-point range, which theoretically should open up the inside game for Timme (and Anton Watson, to a lesser extent).

However …

The Zags were 17 for 36 behind the arc against in easy blowouts of North Florida and Portland State.

Subtract those buckets, and the percentage in those tough games falls to just a hair over 33 percent — fair, but hardly a game-changing number.

BESIDES learning how to play effective team defense and handling the ball efficiently (110 assists to 101 turnovers so far), the Zags have some individual question marks.

Having Nembhard and Holmgren around last year perhaps masked some troubles that need to be addressed.

Julian Strawther gets a lot of attention as an NBA prospect on the basis of his shooting and rebounding, but he hasn’t proven he can take the ball to the hoop without dribbling into trouble or running over someone.

Julian also hasn’t found the knack of seeing open teammates, a typical Gonzaga trademark.

During 223 minutes across seven games, he’s managed just nine assists (and 18 turnovers).

And then …

You have the Watson situation.

Anton basically can’t hit shots outside 12 feet with any regularity, so his rebounding and defense are negated somewhat by struggles at the other end.

“(Gonzaga) has a problem because teams basically don’t guard Watson,” said Seth Greenberg, TV pundit and longtime college coach.

“That makes it difficult for the other guys to run things and get open.”

The same problem dogged super-swift guard Hunter Sallis when he got to Gonzaga, but Sallis has worked relentlessly on his shot — and now is hitting 33 percent from deep (and going up).

The point with these individual players is that they are gifted athletes, and Gonzaga’s success this year — or lack of it — will come down to how much they improve.

Plus, that upside must come while playing seamlessly in the Zags’ systems at both ends of the court — with the same cool and poise Few’s teams have displayed year after year.

It’s a tough assignment.

Let’s see how it goes.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday.

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