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(Tennessee: Senior, 6-6)
Current overall rank: 11
Previous rank: 18 (+7)
Best rank: 4
Worst rank: 21
Dalton Knecht and Stephon Castle made the two biggest jumps up the lottery board.
Knecht, the SEC Player of the Year, recently turned 23 and is ready to make an impact immediately as a rookie next season. He can score at all three levels, has a three-point shot (39.7 percent) that should immediately translate quickly, and has underrated athleticism with the ability to dunk in traffic through the lane with a head of steam.
“Knecht is big and can shoot,” an NBA scout told HoopsHype. “I think he’s going to be a guy you can put into an NBA game, and he’ll keep the defense honest. He has a skill that’s coveted (shooting). He’s strong, too.”
Offensively, Knecht isn’t much of a playmaker for his teammates, averaging 1.8 assists and 1.7 turnovers per game. Defensively, Knecht is not a lockdown on-ball defender and doesn’t generate steals or deflections often in the passing lanes.
“Knecht is a lottery pick,” a longtime NBA executive told HoopsHype. “He put up big numbers this year. I think it helped him by going to Tennessee, where Rick Barnes has tried to instill some defensive abilities. He can shoot and score in a multitude of ways.”
More: Dalton Knecht: NBA draft scouting report and intel
