THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Zags trying to build as they go

Gonzaga is trying to defy a long-held belief at the top level of basketball.

To understand, consider a saying that has been repeated almost forever among coaches: “For every freshman who plays a lot, it will cost you a game.”

Now, I don’t have a set of facts or any massive reference books to prove that, rather general observation.

It makes sense, though.

No matter how talented kids might be as they step into the elite level of college hoops, there’s an adjustment period.
I mean, it’s just not high school.

Those open lanes to the hoop you remember now suddenly close in a flash.

And somewhere in that adjustment time, a naïve play or an overenthusiastic error or loss of positioning in a complicated defense could very well cost you a game.

We know that Mark Few understands these potential perils of youth very well.

Would he like to avoid having newcomers on the court for too many clutch moments, and make sure that savvy veterans are out there to handle the biggest plays?

YOU BET.

But that’s not the way this season’s roster has evolved. The serious knee injury to transfer wing Steele Venters hit the Zags just after play began.

Venters had been earmarked for the spot held by Julian Strawther, who left early for the NBA.

Suddenly, there were no experienced wings left to hit those critical shots and find open cutters.

We’ll talk more about vacancies in the backcourt shortly, but the transfer of Hunter Sallis to Wake Forest and Malachi Smith’s shot at pro ball has left portal product Ryan Nembhard and returning junior Nolan Hickman as the only guards on the team who’ve played any meaningful college hoops.

In the post, Drew Timme departed after setting the school scoring record and doing some terrific casino commercials.

Wyoming transfer Graham Ike opened the season as the lone occupant of that position.

The only position where Few could pencil in some experience — Gonzaga experience, to boot — was power forward, where Anton Watson and Ben Gregg are back to bang the boards.

So, what’s happened?

Redshirt freshman Braden Huff has not exactly been allowed to slide into the backup post role slowly.

He’s playing a lot when it matters, showing nifty moves around the hoop, a sweet touch from outside (10 of 19 from 3-point range), and averaging 12.5 points per game.

Meanwhile, with Venters out for the year, Strawther’s successor is true freshman Dusty Stromer — who looks like he’s been playing for the Zags all his life, and has grabbed Few’s faith to the tune of 30 minutes per game.

That’s a huge workload for first-year player not named Jalen Suggs.

Huff and Stromer have filled two important spots, doing jobs that Few couldn’t quite have foreseen prior to the first tip-off.

Both look like players who will only improve as the season progresses toward the real work — March Madness, the TRUE season for any group of Zags.

THE ONE role we haven’t yet mentioned in depth, however, is firefighting in the backcourt.

In fact, “depth” is the key word here.

Nembhard and Hickman simply can’t each play 40 minutes per game and not suffer from it.

So would Gonzaga.

There’s an added problem, as well, since both guards are on the small side for a team ranked No. 7 in college basketball.

Nembhard is 6 feet even, Hickman 2 inches taller.

Eventually, there will be teams trying to create switches and using other tactics to get shots over those two guards.

This isn’t Few’s normal routine at all, but he’s begun to address the issue with a couple of big, strong freshmen from opposite parts of the world — 6-5 guard Luka Crajnovic from Croatia, and 6-8, 220-pound Korean swingman Jun Seok Yeo.

Jun is perhaps the most natural athlete on the roster, bursting with potential but still adapting to Few’s structure – especially on defense.

That’s important, because down the road, Jun almost certainly will be summoned to cover some scorers who present size/shooting problems for anyone else.

Krajnovic likely should develop into a third ballhandler, so Nembhard and Hickman can take turns getting some rest.

These last two freshmen are just now getting some minutes, so the staff can lean into their strengths and correct their early errors.

It’s not like Few to play (or need) a nine-man rotation, let alone trusting four freshmen to operate smoothly in the middle of it.

Keep an eye on how the minutes are distributed Saturday night when the Zags visit Washington.

There are some hints here of those early days when we saw the first development of Killian Tillie and Rui Hachimura, plus the one-and-done success of Zach Collins.

Tillie and Hachimura, though, were not exactly holding a safety net for anyone — not on a team full of vets.

Krajnovic and Jun Yeo (along with Huff and Stromer), may make the critical difference as a fascinating season plays out.

No safety net this time.

Forgive Few if he ages a little quicker this year.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

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