Gonzaga sophomore Emmanuel Innocenti contributing at both ends of court

Emmanuel Innocenti made his first appearance Saturday at a Gonzaga postgame media session and it certainly won’t be the last time as he continues to earn more minutes in the rotation.

The sophomore guard has made a positive impact with an expanded role over the last three weeks.

It hasn’t gone unnoticed by head coach Mark Few and appreciative teammates. The Zags are 6-1 in that three-week span with noticeable improvement defensively and Innocenti also making important contributions offensively.

“He’s been really good for us this last month,” Few said. “His plus/minus has just been off the charts. He makes our defense so much better when he’s out there, but our offensive efficiency has climbed when he’s out there, too. He’s just a ball mover and gets us extra possessions. He’s really rounding into a good player and really helping us.”

Innocenti played just 93 minutes (5.5 per contest) with appearances in 17 of Gonzaga’s first 20 games. He played two minutes in a 97-89 overtime loss to Oregon State in Corvallis and never left the bench during a 103-99 home setback to Santa Clara two days later.

Few proceeded to shake up the lineup with Innocenti starting the ensuing three games and seeing consistent minutes in the last four. In the last seven games, he’s logged 155 minutes (22.1 per game). During that span, he has scored 23 of his 38 points this season, dished out 13 of his 22 assists and collected nine of his 14 steals and 21 of his 36 rebounds.

“I’ve been practicing hard every day and show coach that I can stay on the court,” said Innocenti, a native of Ranzanico, Italy. “And any time I step in I’m ready to help my teammates, do my best defensively and bring the energy.”

He recorded eight points, two 3-pointers, four assists and two rebounds in his first start at Portland. He probably posted his best stat line in Saturday’s 107-55 rout over Pepperdine. He matched his season high with eight points, drained two 3s and added four rebounds and three steals.

Innocenti has committed just four turnovers in 248 minutes – an average of one every 62 minutes. He’s had at least one steal in each of the last six games and three against the Waves was his season high.

The 6-foot-5, 198-pound Innocenti earned Western Athletic Conference All-Freshman and All-Defensive team recognition last season at Tarleton State while averaging 31.7 minutes, 6.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 steals (second in the WAC).

“Just for the guards in general, it’s been big for him to come in and give us great minutes, give us good energy on the defensive end and just get everybody else going,” said Gonzaga senior guard Nolan Hickman, who had 18 points, seven assists and zero turnovers against Pepperdine. “That’s been huge for us and much needed, especially around this time of year in college basketball.”

“He comes in and brings that spark that we need on the defensive side and he can make shots, too,” senior point guard Ryan Nembhard added. “This dude right here (pointing at Hickman), he probably gets the best matchup every single night in terms of (opposing teams’ best) guards. He’s been guarding his tail off, making shots and hooping. Both of them are big-time for us.”

It was a feel-good win pretty much across the board Saturday. Starters and rotation players were on their feet, cheering loudly as reserves logged extended minutes in the second half.

Freshman post Ismaila Diagne scored seven points in six minutes, his first action since Oregon State on Jan. 28. Junior forward Jun Seok Yeo scored five points in a season-high 10 minutes. Walk-on guard Joaquim ArauzMoore saw action for the fourth time this season while walk-on Noah Haaland, a 6-9 forward from Rathdrum, Idaho, saw court time for the third time. Few’s son, Joe, played a season-high five minutes.

“We just know how much work those guys put in, whether that’s scout team or every day coming in and being prepared,” Nembhard said. “We love those guys, those guys are good friends of ours so it’s a fun time for sure.”