Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht continues to fly up the NBA mock draft charts.
Knecht and the Volunteers are preparing for a Sweet 16 game against 3-seed Creighton this Friday night in Detroit, Michigan. Tennessee reached that stage by beating 15-seed Saint Peter’s in the first round and 7-seed Texas in the second round.
Knecht scored 23 points against the Peacocks and 18 points against the Longhorns. The former Northern Colorado transfer also tallied 8.5 rebounds per game in Charlotte.
With a tournament weekend under his belt, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo have Knecht slotted as the No. 8 overall pick by the Houston Rockets (via Brooklyn Nets) in this summer’s NBA Draft.
Givony and Woo pointed to the impressive aspect of Knecht’s clutch free throws against Texas despite a tough shooting night from the perimeter (1-of-8).
Knecht is the fourth college player off the board in Givony and Woo’s mock draft, landing behind Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham at No. 3 to the Spurs, UConn’s Donovan Clingan at No. 5 to the Trail Blazers, and Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard at No. 7 to the Grizzlies.
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Knecht, the reigning SEC Player of the Year, ended the season scoring 21.1 points per game, which is tied for 14th in the nation. The 6-foot-6 senior was named one of the four finalists for the Naismith Player of the Year award on Monday afternoon.
Knecht has been a scoring machine for Tennessee this season, recording 16 games with more than 20 points and five games with more than 35 points this season.
Tennessee and star guard Dalton Knecht will take on Creighton in the Sweet 16 this Friday night in Detroit at 10:09 p.m. ET.
Other notable names from Givony and Woo’s ESPN mock draft include Purdue’s Zach Edey at No. 14, Duke’s Kyle Filipowski at No. 15, and Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner at No. 56.
Check out ESPN’s latest NBA Mock Draft in full by clicking here.
