5 underrated transfers who could be the next Dalton Knecht ft. North Carolina’s Cade Tyson
Dalton Knecht entered the transfer portal ahead of the 2023-24 season after enjoying a fairly fruitful time with the Northern Colorado Bears. While he wasn't rated very highly among the Tennesee Volunteers' 2023 signing class, he emerged as an absolute star at Knoxville.
Knecht was named the SEC Player of the Year and the SEC Newcomer of the Year before the Los Angeles Lakers used their first-round pick of the 2024 NBA draft on him.
With just two weeks to go for the upcoming college basketball season, analysts have started making their picks for the next Dalton Knecht.
5 players tipped to be the next Dalton Knecht
#5. Ryan Conwell, Xavier
Conwell was among the top performers for the Indiana State Sycamores in his sophomore season. He averaged 16.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 38 starts and got ranked second in the MVC for three-pointers (109).
NCAA analyst Jeff Goodman appreciated the four-star transfer's talent and shared his predictions for this year.
"Conwell was arguably Indiana State's best player," said Goodman. "6'4", get to the basket, can shoot it. Might end up being Xavier's best player."
#4. JP Pegues, Auburn
Pegues was ranked 28th among players in the transfer portal per On3 after developing into a top guard at Furman.
He averaged 18.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists last season, earning a place on the All-Southern Conference First Team.
Ex-UMass head coach and NBC analyst Matt McCall believed Pegues would suit the philosophy of Bruce Pearl at Auburn this season.
"When you look at Bruce Pearl in his coaching career, and I'd even go back to Tennessee when he had Chris Lofton. His best teams have always had a smaller guard that can go get a bucket and that's exactly what he can do," said McCall.
#3. Ben Humrichous, Illinois
Humrichous thrived at Evansville last season, leading the Purple Aces' scoring by averaging 14.7 points and 4.7 rebounds. He earned a spot on the MVC All-Newcomer Team and was named the MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
FOX Sports broadcaster John Fanta believes the 6'9" small forward could be the most exciting player at Champaign in the upcoming season.
"Get ready for the Ben Humrichous experience," said Fanta. "It just looks like Brad Underwood is going to play through him like he played through Marcus Domask last year.
"He's going to come into this program and be a big time scorer for them. I think if Illinois is a top-four team in the Big Ten, it's because of him."
2. Tucker DeVries, West Virginia
DeVries was ranked the top small forward transfer and sixth overall per 247Sports as he decided to follow his father, Darian Dale, to West Virginia for the 2024-25 season.
He averaged an astonishing 21.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists in his last season at Drake, winning the Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year for the second season in a row.
Rob Dauster, a founder of The Field of 68 network, believes he could score some massive points and make a difference to the Mountaineers this season.
"Like Dalton Knecht, he's a big 6'7" wing shooter that can shoot, that can score like Dalton Knecht," said Dauster. "I think that West Virginia's got a good chance to finish top half of the Big 12.
"I don't think that'll be enough to get Tucker DeVries on an All-American team, but he's going to be a guy that scores a lot of points for a good West Virginia team."
1. Cade Tyson, North Carolina
Tyson shined for Belmont in the 2023-24 season, averaging 13.6 points and 4.6 rebounds. He also ranked second in the country for three-point shooting percentage (46.5%) and made the All-MVC Second-Team.
Randolph Childress, who once coached the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, looked keen on seeing what the four-star prospect can do as part of the Tar Heels' backcourt in the upcoming season.
"I say that because, the guard play at Carolina and his ability to shoot, I think they have depth," said Childress. "I think that guard play is elite, it's one of the best back courts in the country.
"His ability to catch and shoot, knock down threes, I think, playing for University of North Carolina, people will know about him, absolutely, come February, come March."
It will be interesting to see how things will turn out for each of these players. Drop your predictions for the upcoming season in the comment section below.