Gonzaga Basketball: Projected roster rotation and minutes for 2024-25 season

Small Forward

Projected starter: Khalif Battle (15 mpg)

Bench: Steele Venters (15 mpg), Ben Gregg (8 mpg), Emmanuel Innocenti (2 mpg)

Battle has been a prolific scorer in five years and three different teams. At Arkansas, the 6’5 guard averaged 14.8 ppg in 25 mpg, mostly coming off the bench. He shot 35% from three-point range. He had 15 games but exploded down the stretch, averaging over 27 ppg in the final seven games.

Battle has started 32 games out of 101 in his career so he’d be comfortable coming off the bench at Gonzaga. Their biggest success last season came when Ben Gregg was inserted into the lineup, with the 3-big offense working. Gregg, a 6’10 senior forward, posted career-high numbers of 9.0 ppg and 5.7 rpg, shooting 54% from the field and 38% from deep.

However, don’t forget about Venters, a former Big Sky Player of the Year at Eastern Washington two years ago, averaging 15.3 ppg on 37% shooting, with even better stats in the year prior. The 6’7 wing missed last season with an injury but provided needed spacing on the perimeter. In an ideal world, Venters is good enough to start and have Battle as the 6th Man on the roster.

One other person to watch is Innocenti, a 6’5 transfer forward from Tarleton State. The versatile athlete from Italy averaged 6.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, and 2.9 apg as a freshman, earning All-WAC honors as well. He’s a developmental prospect who might be a redshirt candidate like Smith since there’s so much depth on the roster on the wings.