Dalton Knecht was Tennessee basketball’s lone player invited to the NBA Draft Combine later this month. The NBA invited 78 players both in college and international to its annual scouting combine but Tennessee’s Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi did not receive invites.
The Vols have no current players exploring their NBA options though outgoing transfer Jonas Aidoo is in the NBA Draft and did not receive an invite. Aidoo committed to Arkansas basketball earlier this week and is not expected to stay in the draft.
Knecht averaged 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He was even better in SEC play where he averaged 25.5 points per game on 48% shooting from the field and 42% shooting from three-point range.
The 6-foot-6 guard earned an abundance of honors for his dominant season. He was the SEC Player of the Year, the Julius Irving Award winner, a consensus First Team All-American and a finalist for both the Naismith National Player of the Year and Wooden Award.
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James was a five-year starter for Tennessee and was a key versatile piece to the Vols’ SEC Championship and Elite Eight team this past season. The 6-foot-6 wing averaged 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game during his super senior year. He played some of his best basketball in huge spots in the end of the season.
James scored nine points and nine rebounds in the Vols’ Round of 32 win over Texas, totaled 15 points and four rebounds in the Sweet 16 win over Creighton and totaled eight points and four rebounds in the Elite Eight loss against Purdue.
Vescovi had a disappointing super senior season averaging just 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. But the left-handed shooting guard was a First Team All-SEC selection in both his junior and senior season as he averaged 13.3 points on 40% shooting from three-point range and 12.5 points on 37% shooting from three-point range.
NBA Mock Drafts project Knecht as a a fringe lottery pick in this summer’s NBA Draft while neither James or Vescovi are projected draft selections.
