Tennessee basketball's Dalton Knecht dominates Day 1 of the NBA Draft Combine

NBA.com and Bleacher Report have projected Dalton Knecht to be drafted at No. 10, but that could change after his performance at the NBA Draft Combine. We're only one day into the combine, which will run through Sunday, May 19, but Knecht wasted no time showing why he's one of the best players in this year's draft class. 

Knecht lit up the scoring drills like he did this past season, earning SEC Player of the Year. He shot 80% in the spot-up shooting drill, which was good enough for first among participants. Only one player was able to match Knecht, with Pittsburgh's Carlton Carrington matching Knecht. 

Not much changed in the three-point star drill. Knecht shot 18-for-25, which was good enough for first again. Connecticut guard Stephon Castle and Cal guard Jaylon Tyson tied Knecht's 72% shooting to put all three players at the top of the leaderboard. 

His ability to shoot the basketball should now be known far and wide. This past season, he quickly became one of the hottest and best players in the SEC and the country while playing in the best conference in college basketball. 

Knecht found himself near the top of the leaderboard in vertical leap, with a 39-inch leap, which is only three inches shy of the best in this year's combine by Kentucky's Reed Sheppard. 

The NBA pulled statistics off their website after there were some errors in players' measurements, so we will have to wait to see additional official statistics from day one. When completing his shuttle run, he had the fastest time. He also recorded the second-fastest pro lane drill when he completed it. 

His ability to score from anywhere on the court has turned heads throughout the NBA and could help him rise up the NBA Draft rankings and move closer to the top-five if he continues to outperform his peers during combine week.

Knecht will continue to work out throughout this week and show off the skills that will make him an immediate playmaker in the NBA. His ability to be a plug-and-play prospect is attractive to many teams, so seeing him dominate in person at the combine could boost his stock into a potential top-five draft pick.