After one record-shattering season at Tennessee, Dalton Knecht is preparing for his NBA career following Wednesday's 2024 NBA Draft.
The former Vols' superstar guard was taken in the first round as the No. 17 overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers where he will play alongside LeBron James and for first-year head coach J.J. Redick next season.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
Knecht was the highest-drafted Tennessee player since Marcus Haslip went No. 13 in 2002, and the ninth highest-drafted in program history.
Knecht became the 44th player to be drafted under Rick Barnes in his 37 years as a head coach, and the 10th player since he took over at Tennessee in 2015.
Barnes recapped the draft, dished on Knecht's career and more during a media availability on Friday. Here's everything he said.
On Knecht's draft position
"The draft is so unpredictable, and I think going into this, we all talked about it, and he understood it, that he had some really good workouts with some teams, but then some things happened early in the draft. A couple of guys went that no one expected to go. Really, it shuffles everything while we were at the table. It's amazing how many teams, talking to his agents, seeing how they could move up. They got those five minute segments to do that and teams that maybe didn't think they'd get a shot, trying to get medical records and all those type things. With that said, I think it's a great thing. One, I'm really excited for (new Lakers head coach J.J. Redick). You know, J.J. used to work out with us when we were at Texas. He had a home over there in Austin and he would come over. I think he's going to be just an incredible mentor for Dalton. I watched a lot of tape of J.J. with Dalton this year. And, you know, one thing J.J. said was, he wanted to put a big emphasis on player development, which Dalton is going to be a great guy to have a chance to work under that. So, I think when all is said and done, I think it's a great scenario for Dalton. He's excited about it and has a chance to play for one of the greatest franchises in sports history and play with some of the best players and one of the best of all time. He's excited and we're excited for him."
On Knecht's emotions during draft
“It’s an experience. I told him, I said now every player that we ever recruit, every player, their dream is to one day think about, dream about having their name called. And as you know, 99.9% of them don’t get that opportunity. Just having a chance to be in that green room and have your name called, regardless of where it might be is in itself a dream come true. And then you add on the fact that he’s going to a really historic franchise with just an incredible history. But Dalton, we were sitting there talking, well, you know, you got to Tennessee in a roundabout way in terms of not many people know about you. And now you’ve always sort of, kind of had a chip on your shoulder wanting to prove people wrong. And you can use it that way too. But this is nothing to be ashamed of or any of that. I think every player wants to be a lottery pick. Sometimes it works out better with who you get picked, picked by, drafted by. And in this situation, I think it’s great for him.”
On the NBA Draft experience, sharing with Knecht's family
“Well, (Knecht) has got such a great family. He had a lot of family there and has traveled a long way to be there and be a part of it. Got there a couple days before and had a chance to enjoy New York. And you can imagine, they’ve watched him grow up and they would tell you that they’re not surprised by it. And he grew up as a kid talking about it. And like I said, the dream came true for him.”
On being at the College World Series and NBA Draft in the last week
“My texts finally went over a thousand. But one, it was honestly, being there for the national championship game was extremely special. I’d been there one other time and it was Texas and I told Frank Anderson we’re 2-for-2 because Frank was the pitching coach at Texas when I was there. And he won it that that year. And really one of the highlights with everything that went on was when we were getting ready to leave, I saw Frank sitting in the dugout by himself and that really touched me. He was there when everybody was gone, just sitting there on the back of the bleacher looking out onto the field. And I’ve got so much respect for him. But Tony (Vitello) and what he’s done is really remarkable. I mean, I keep asking myself many times how has this all come together, it seems quickly, here at the University of Tennessee. But I was asked that question yesterday and it really, it goes back to leadership. We all know that it starts at the top. And I say it every time I get a chance to talk about Randy Boyd and Donde Plowman and Danny White. They’re the ones that have set the bar, set the standard. And there’s a real synergy about what’s going on here within our athletic department. And we’re on a big wave right now. We hope we can turn into a tidal wave.”
On what has stood out about team during summer workouts
“Work ethic. Our older guys I think have done a really good job of coaching our younger guys, great guys that we’ve got coming back. The young guys have a better feel for what’s going on. They’ve all improved and certainly the guys that are new are learning still, but (have) been great teammates. Very humble, wanting to learn, knowing they’ve got to pick things up quickly. And we’re all excited about what we’ve done up to this point. Yesterday was the first real day that we really went up and down the floor a little bit. But we get back here after (July) fourth. We’ll take it up and notch.”
On why it was important to be at NBA Draft with Knecht
“Well, if I let you read the text, I had to go. Dalton really called me and told me, he said, 'Coach, it would mean a lot to me if you would come.' And he said, it really would. And I said, 'You don’t have to say anymore. I’ll be there.' And long night for everybody. But it was well worth every minute of it, just really being with him and knowing how hard he worked and how much he loves this university and state of Tennessee and Vol nation. And he kept talking about it. If he’s told me once, he’s told me a thousand thousand times, he said, I wish I could go back and do it all over and be at Tennessee four years. But the mark he made in a year is pretty remarkable. And what he did for us is, and the fact, honestly, it touched me that he said, coach, it would mean a lot to me if you come and I said, I’ll be there.”
On how J.J. Redick can maximize Knecht's abilities
“J.J. (Redick), one, has an incredible work ethic. I can remember him coming in and Coach Lentz was with us at the time too, and coach Lentz would be passing him the ball. It wasn’t where it’s supposed to be and (Redick) said, you got to throw it here and he was very organized. Knew exactly what he wanted to get done. And I think just his work ethic, I think he’s gonna love that about Dalton because Dalton is going to be in the gym as much as J.J. was. And I think J.J. will pick up on that really quick. And the fact is Dalton has watched tape of him. I think J.J. will talk to him about even getting more scrappy and what he’s going to have to do to become even a better player in all areas of the game.”
On importance of blending transfer portal additions with returning players during summer workouts
“I think every year you’ve got to continue to get better and, we really are excited about what we have. And some guys have made surprised us a little bit, everyone that we’ve gotten. I think every summer is important. And right now as a coaching staff, we really put so much emphasis on each individual guy in terms of trying to get that person to understand how we see him right now to keep building roles and keep getting guys to understand what they need to do to take the next step to get better and help our team. And so we spend a lot of time, not just on the court, but talking, and obviously it’s a big summer in the weight room. They’re up there right now and we feel like we got to put weight on certain guys and certain guys we need to get them to where they have just their cardio goes up to a whole different level. And I would tell you that the new guys that are here would tell you that it’s been totally different for him. They would tell you it’s been good for him, but it’s something that they’ve never done up to this point.”
On if transfer portal approach changed because of Dalton Knecht
"Well, I think we’re like anybody, when we got in and we— I mean everybody just started with not knowing how it was going to work. You certainly realize that you’re going to have to make adjustments. I think in sports, I mean, I go back to just like recruiting. When I started, you could recruit every day of the year. Then it started, no phone calls, this, that. It’s all about adjustments, and not just because of Dalton (Knecht). I mean with the way that we had guys, as you know, that we didn’t expect to leave, they left. And I think we were in a position because our staff does a great job of trying to stay ahead of everything that we knew that we might have to do this or do that. And I think now with the portal, you really have to expect the unexpected. And with that said, it’s all about adjustment and who knows where it’s going to go. I don’t think anybody still knows where this whole thing’s going to lead, but it is what it is right now. And you either embrace it or you fall behind.”
–––––
– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.
– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.
– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.
–––––
