Earlier this week, Steele Venters received what could only be the most devastating news possible. After missing last season with a torn ACL, he suffered an Achilles injury that will keep him out of this season as well.
Last season, Venters was expected to be a major contributor. Although you cannot blame one injury for a team’s woes, it was evident early in the season when the team struggled. A freshman Dusty Stromer admirably put in the minutes, probably more than he was ready for, and the team struggled mightily from the three-point line.
This coming season, with the additions of Michael Ajayi and Khalif Battle, the Zags are a bit better suited in terms of roster construction to absorb this loss. However, Venters’ injury creates a question mark for a team that arguably did not have many: three-point shooting.
Venters is a career 40 percent three-point shooter. That makes him the best marksman on the squad. During the beginning of last season, three-point shooting was a huge concern. Conference play was largely favorable to the Zags, with Ryan Nembhard hitting 46 percent from long range and Nolan Hickman shooting 45.5 percent.
Now, the question mark around such increases is whether or not that is sustainable. For Hickman, you could probably make the decent argument that he could be a 40 percent shooter from long-range this season. His shot has steadily improved throughout the years, going from 30.8 to 35.4 to 41.3 in his three years of college hoops.
Nembhard, on the other hand, should not be expected to sustain that shooting clip. Even after draining nearly half of his threes during conference play, his overall percentage was a paltry 32.1 percent. He is a career 33.2. percent from three, so it fits the bill.
But Another Gonzaga Blog, I can hear you furiously typing, the incoming Michael Ajayi shot 47 percent from three last season. He will easily fill the Venters’-sized void. This fact is true. Ajayi did shoot well from distance last season. He also averaged 2.5 attempts per game. Venters’ volume was six attempts per game in his last season at Eastern Washington. Ajayi’s offensive identity is not built around his notoriety as a three-point sniper–it is just an added level of his game that makes him dangerous–complimentary if you will.
This team’s best three-point shooters are now arguably Hickman and Little Ben Gregg. The Zags don’t necessarily have anyone who can step into that Venters role unless Dusty Stromer displays a knack for knocking down threes early. Rather than have it be an individualized effort, the Zags can absorb this injury blow collectively as a team, or at least that will have to be the hope.