Knecht heading to the West Coast
After a single, historical season with Tennessee, Dalton Knecht was drafted with the 17th overall pick in the NBA Draft to the Lakers.
During his one year with the Vols, Knecht racked up various awards, honors and records:
- Consensus First Team All-American
- Naismith Award Finalist
- AP National Player of the Year runner up
- Consensus SEC Player of the Year
- Wooden Award Finalist
- CBS, ESPN and Field of 68 Transfer of the Year
- Four-time SEC Player of the Week
- Two-time National Player of the Week
- One of just four Vols to average 20-plus points in a season
- First Tennessee player ever to score 30 points in five-straight games
- Second to Allan Houston in points in a single season with 780
Knecht shined all season as the only player in the country to score at least 39 points three times and the only player to score at least 37 points five times, but his stock took a leap near the end of the year and during the NCAA Tournament. In the final 22 games of the season, he averaged 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from 2, 41 percent from deep with a 58-percent true-shooting mark and an effective FG% of 54 percent. As impressive as his season was, it’s even more wild considering the context of the jump in competition coming from Northern Colorado in the Big Sky Conference to the SEC.
He almost single-handedly brought home the late-season win against Auburn, when he scored 25 of his 37 points in the second half, going 12-21 in the game, making 5-8 from 3 and hitting 10-12 from the free-throw line. He scored 40 in the final regular season game of the season against Kentucky with six 3s and 14 made FGs.
During March Madness, Knecht averaged 26 points and 6.5 boards, hitting the 20-point mark in three of four games which included his final 37-point outburst in Tennessee’s loss to Purdue in the Elite Eight.
In the weeks leading up to the draft, he began rising up draft boards and mock drafts, probably partially in part to his showing at the NBA Combine. He had the fastest shuttle run of any player at the Combine with a time of 2.89 seconds, he notched the 12th-highest max vertical at 39 inches and turned in the 18th-highest standing vertical at 31 inches. Those are solid numbers, but it was his shooting that really stood out. He finished second in spot-up shooting when he made jumpers at an 84-percent clip and finished fourth in movement shooting at 72 percent.
He was mocked to go as high as sixth and seemed to be inside the top-10 on most media members’ big boards. He was one of the first 12 players invited the NBA’s Green Room, which just means the league invited him to attend the draft in person and is oftentimes an indication of a relatively early selection.
There’s typically a stigma in the NBA against drafting older players, as most teams are looking for younger players who, in theory, have more potential from growth than someone like Knecht, who’s already 24 years old. Despite the brilliant season at Tennessee and the solid combine showing, it’s fair to say Knecht likely fell victim to that stigma as he slid down from where most expected him to go.
But Knecht’s outrageous shot-making from deep, ability to score from all three levels and consistency (failed to score in double digits just four times) was obviously enough for the scouts and front office of the Lakers. He fits right in with a team that needs a player who’s mature and ready to contribute — then his well-documented work ethic should bode well next with Lakers’ star LeBron James, who has that expectation of his teammates.