'He's definitely a pro': Dalton Knecht lived up to the hype during Tennessee's preseason

Everick Sullivan had seen enough. Dalton Knecht had only played 26 minutes, scored 13 points   and helped No. 9 Tennessee coast to an exhibition win. But Lenoir-Rhyne’s head coach knew just how good the prized fifth-year transfer wing can be for the Vols this season. 

“He’s definitely a pro,” Sullivan said Tuesday night after Tennessee’s 90-48 win the preseason finale at Thompson-Boling Arena. “And the reason I say he’s a pro, because he can make your team better without scoring. You have to game plan for him. He makes it look very easy.”

Knecht made his debut with the Vols look easy, erupting for 28 points in Tennessee’s 89-88 win at No. 4 Michigan State just two days before the Lenoir-Rhyne game.

It was efficient 28 points, coming on just 16 shots from the field. But it was also a loud 28, with Knecht hitting one big shot after the next — he finished 8-for-16 from the field, including 30-for-9 from the 3-point line — helping answer for the Vols in front of a crowd of nearly 15,000 inside the Breslin Center in East Lansing. 

“I haven’t seen him a lot,” Sullivan said, “but I did watch the game against Michigan State. He did it against some super high-level athletes.”

No. 9 Tennessee vs. Tennessee Tech, Monday, 6:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network+

Knecht in his first two games in a Tennessee uniform lived up to the hype that had built around him during the spring and summer. The 6-foot-5, 213-pounder, who had climbed from Northeastern Junior College in Colorado to Northern Colorado and now to the SEC, was an elite scorer during summer workouts, usually the best player on the floor inside Pratt Pavilion.

“Just trying to prove myself,” Knecht said after the Michigan State game. “Everyone’s a good player in this game, so it’s just time to prove myself.”

But now the preseason is over. Tennessee opens the regular-season schedule against Tennessee Tech (6:30 p.m. Eastern Time, SEC Network+) at Thompson-Boling Arena. 

After the win at Michigan State, head coach Rick Barnes stepped to the podium and praised Knecht for the one thing he had stayed on him about since the day he stepped on campus — his defense.

“The way he came out and played defensive to start the game,” Barnes said, “I have not seen that at any point in time, which is a good thing because it’s on film now. And he’s raised the bar, which is a good thing. Because I think he proved to himself that if he wants to lock in and get it done, he can.”

“(Barnes) told me after (the game),” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said, “that was the best and hardest game that Knecht had played.”

Tuesday night after the Lenoir-Rhyne game, Barnes got back to his old self, picking apart Knecht’s game like the perfectionist he is. 

“I’m a fan of Dalton’s,” he said, “but you know what, if he’s gonna be a pro, he’s gonna have to be as effective on the defensive end in a cerebral type way.”

And on the offensive end, too. 

“Offensively,” Barnes said,” I don’t think he understands how effective he is, in his mind. He’s a guy that he misses his first three (shots), he wants to stand out there and get one goin, where I think the best part of his game is when he gets going downhill. And I think he’s gotta understand that.”

Dalton Knecht last season: 20.2 points, 7.2 rebounds per game, 38.1% 3FG

Knecht shot 36.1% from the 3-point line two years ago at Northern Colorado and 38.1% last season. He made 125 3-pointers over the two season. While averaging 20.9 points per game last season, he took 287 shots from inside the 3-point line and attempted 202 3-pointers.

Barnes doesn’t want Knecht to stop shooting it from three. He just wants him to use his 3-point shooting ability to his advantage in other ares of the floor.

“Because of the fact he can shoot it deep,” Barnes said, “he’s going to have plenty of space because people would be up into him, that he can get downhill. He’s strong, he can score, he can handle the ball, but he can’t be a guy that’s gonna settle.”

Instead, he has to be just as elite at cutting as he is as shooting. He has to be just as focused on driving as he is on finding his spots on the 3-point line. 

“He’s gotta cut harder,” Barnes said. “On his cuts he should want the ball. I mean, we’ve isolated in two games and let him have it and back down and play, his back to the basket within 7-10 feet. And he’s smart, but he can do that on cutting, but he’s gotta cut with a purpose. Gotta get better there.”

The effort is there. Barnes said there’s no doubt Knecht has “tried harder than he’s ever tried in his life.” But now it’s about fine tuning.

“He’s a difference-maker,” Lenoir-Rhyne’s Sullivan said, “no doubt about it.”