Tennessee wing Dalton Knecht has captivated the basketball world in the first month of the college basketball season.
Knecht didn’t quite come out of nowhere. The biggest college basketball experts and diehards knew of Knecht when he entered the transfer portal and some outlets even ranked him high in top transfer lists.
But the Thornton, Colorado native’s path from junior college to Northern Colorado didn’t allow many eyeballs on him. After all, Colorado isn’t exactly a basketball hot bed.
Knecht’s start to his super senior season at Tennessee has made nearly every basketball fan and guru turn their heads and the wing is starting to show up on NBA radars including on mock drafts.
ESPN’s latest 2024 NBA mock draft predicts the Los Angeles Clippers to select Knecht with the No. 40 pick in the next summer’s draft. The projection has the Clippers selecting Knecht with the 11th pick in the second round of the draft.
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Knecht is the only Tennessee player ESPN projects to be drafted in the 2024 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-6 wing projects as the seventh best NBA prospect in the SEC.
In his first seven games at Tennessee, Knecht is averaging 20.3 points per game on an impressive 51% shooting from the field and 41% shooting from three-point range. The senior is also averaging 4.9 rebounds and two assists per game.
Knecht has impressed with his ability to score at all three levels on the offensive end. He’s a fantastic shooter off the dribble and in catch-and-shoot scenarios but can also get to the basket and finish around rim protectors thanks to his long arms and creativity.
Tennessee’s leading scorer tied the visiting scoring record at North Carolina’s Dean E. Smith Center last week by totaling 37 points on 13-of-17 shooting from the field. Knecht would have broken the record but had to exit the game with an ankle injury in the final minutes of the Vols’ loss.
The Vols have yet to update Knecht’s status ahead of Tuesday night’s matchup against George Mason in Knoxville.
