THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: When push comes to shove for Zags this season ...

Most of you will remember the movie classic, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”

Stars Robert Redford and Paul Newman were lovable outlaws.

They robbed one too many trains, though, and ultimately wound up being chased by a dogged gang of law enforcement cowboys.

No matter where they went — mountains, deserts, everywhere across the Southwest — they would look off in the distance and see that posse on horseback.

Butch (Paul Newman) became more and more incredulous the longer they were followed.

Each time they’d spot the lawmen, Butch would say: “Who ARE those guys?”

That line, which became pretty well known and used after the movie, pops into my mind whenever I’m looking at this season’s Gonzaga basketball roster.

By the way, if you did NOT see the movie (which you should), my second choice for an introduction today was pretty straightforward.

When you watch these Zags — especially early in the season — it’ll be helpful to have a game program handy.

New-look Gonzaga opens the 2023-24 season tonight with an exhibition game at The Kennel against Lewis-Clark State.

THEY DID play a “secret” scrimmage with Baylor, and it’s worth mentioning that event because we got a solid hint on how Mark Few is planning to deploy his troops.

Reports always surface from these behind-closed-doors affairs, and what we learned from that very unofficial 81-78 win over Baylor was that Few gave almost all the minutes to his starting five — plus versatile big man Ben Gregg.

Transfers Ryan Nembhard (point guard), Steele Venters (wing) and Graham Ike (center) joined returnees Anton Watson (power forward) and Nolan Hickman (shooting guard) as the core unit.

I suspect we’ll see that group carry a lot of the load, with Gregg showing up to spell Watson or Venters.

Few normally doesn’t use a rotation that goes deeper than seven or eight players, but he’s already admitted that there’s more talent on the roster than that — so who might work their way into regular action?

Dusty Stromer, the only true freshman on the roster, was a priority recruit from Los Angeles and will be gunning for serious minutes at the off-guard and wing spots.

Redshirt frosh Braden Huff was the player of the year in Illinois as a high school senior two years ago, and we saw why at the Kraziness scrimmage — as the 6-10 Huff scored inside and out, leading everyone with 19 points.

Croatian freshman Luka Krajnovic looked good, too, as did Korean international Jun Seok Yeo.

Serbian banger Pavle Stosic was a late arrival to the program, so while everything looks up for grabs beyond the top six, he might be a redshirt candidate.

Huff went that route last year, and the slick lefty now looks seriously ready to contribute.

YOU SEE an immediate hole on this team.

It feels like Drew Timme because an institution in the post, becoming Gonzaga’s all-time leading scorer before leaving to try his hand as a pro.

This feels amazing, but Timme actually had another year of eligibility left.

The bottom line is not seeing (and hearing) the dynamic Texan will take some adjustment — from fans and from the team.

There are some obvious questions that Few and his players have to answer if the Zags are going to remain in the national picture this season.

Are they physical enough?

The WCC isn’t exactly a bruising conference, so Gonzaga has struggled with teams that want to bang and bump in the NCAA tournament.

Ike weighs 240 and was absolutely rugged at Wyoming two years ago, Gregg is 240, Huff goes 242, and Yeo plays a physical style at 228.

Ironically, Watson has lost weight this year to become more mobile, and quicker off his feet as a rebounder.

The point: Somebody has to shove back if the Zags are going hold the fort against some of the bruisers on the non-conference schedule — and then in the postseason.

Then there’s the issue of Ike’s health.

The big man averaged right around 20 points and 10 rebounds at Wyoming, but he missed all of last year with a foot injury.

“We want to bring him along slowly,” Few said in mid-October.

The big question is whether Ike can show up game after game, or if the foot issue might sideline him sometime during the season.

All the other puzzles that come with such a changed roster will sort themselves out – likely starting next week against Ivy League champion Yale.

Watching Few juggle new pieces this year should be fun.

And very different.

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.”