How transfer Steele Venters fits in with Gonzaga's fast-paced offense

The reigning MVP of the Big Sky Conference sees a lot of similarities between the Zags and the Eagles

Steele Venters went from having one Division-I offer coming out of Ellensburg High School to potentially playing valuable minutes for one of the West Coast’s most dominant college basketball programs over the last quarter-decade.

The reigning Big Sky MVP transferred to Gonzaga from Eastern Washington on Saturday, making a short 19-mile drive jaunt going northeast on I-90 from Cheney to Spokane. He became one of the most coveted players in the transfer portal after averaging 15.3 points per game as a sharpshooting wing in a fast-paced offense last season. With over 1,000 career points in 84 career games as an Eagle, Venters felt the change of scenery was necessary, and after taking his unofficial visit last Thursday, he felt the fit was natural between him and Gonzaga.

“I've done four years here at Eastern and I kind of just wanted to, you know, get a new challenge and a new setting and see what I could do at a higher level really,” Venters said. “I want to play in the NBA, so I kind of have to prove that I can play against you know, higher level athletes and players. And you know, just the vision they have with me and it being 20 minutes from where I'm at now and two and a half hours from home, it just kind of felt like a no-brainer.”

Coach Mark Few and his staff envision Venters sliding in to fill the void left by Julian Strawther, who declared for the NBA Draft on Tuesday, as a spot-up shooter who can also create his own shot from time to time. That shouldn’t be a problem for the 6-foot-7 wing who’s shot 40.3% from deep for his career and ranked in the 89th percentile of all players on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers last season. He’s not afraid to extend his range either, as he knocked down 12 triples from beyond 25 feet last season.

Photo by Michael C. Johnson, USA TODAY Sports

“They need a shooter and that's what I do best,” Venters said. “I think I can kill it from any position. I've proven that a high efficiency from 3 and in the mid-range.”

Venters knocked down the second-most triples in the Big Sky last season with 78. His 55.8 effective field goal percentage was fifth-best in the league. Though he’s shown his marksmanship from deep, Venters strives to polish his game around the rim, where he shot 58.5% from last season.

Venters excels in creating separation from his defender through off-ball-screens and pin-down actions. Without the face-guarding treatment he received from opponents while at EWU, Venters can already sense that getting his shot off at Gonzaga will be a much easier task.

The cast surrounding Venters is relatively unknown at this point. Along with Strawther, Malachi Smith declared for the NBA Draft while Hunter Sallis, Dominick Harris and Efton Reid III all entered the transfer portal in a span of a week. Anton Watson has been quiet about his intentions, and it’s expected that Drew Timme turns pro any moment now, leaving the Zags with just three players that logged more than 400 minutes total last season.

Venters, who’s started 67 games and has experience playing in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, embraces a leadership role as an experienced veteran on a relatively young squad that features three incoming freshmen.

“I'm not going to go in there and step on any toes, but at the same time, I'm coming in there to win,” Venters said “I want to have a big role I just want to come in and help in any way possible."