The Field of 68 had its “hot takes” episode this week. The show’s panel discussed numerous questions throughout the episode including this season’s “Dalton Knecht“. The premise of this question is which relatively unknown player will help lead his team to national prevalence. Broadcaster John Fanta claimed Illinois basketball transfer Ben Humrichous would be this season’s Dalton Knecht.
John Fanta Says Illinois Basketball Player is This Year’s Dalton Knecht
Last season, Knecht transferred to Tennessee. He was a highly-regarded transfer from Northern Colorado, but no one expected him to do as well as he did. Knecht ended up being the SEC Player of the Year and a consensus All-American selection. This means Humrichous has large shoes to fill. But, he may be up to the task. As a freshman at Evansville, he averaged just under 15 points per game. But scoring isn’t the only part of his game. Humrichous stuffed the stat sheet by averaging 5 rebounds and 2 assists while shooting 48% from the field and 41% from three.
Putting up great numbers is only half of the problem. The thing that made Knecht different was his ability to win. He brought Tennessee to the Elite 8 and won an SEC championship. Illinois basketball is one of the few Big Ten teams that has a chance to replicate this success. They are conference challengers and if everything goes right, the Illini can make a deep run in March.
What is Holding Him Back?
It is great to project success for transfers. Illinois head coach Brad Underwood has had tremendous success with the transfer portal in recent seasons by bringing in Marcus Domask and Terrence Shannon. However, the Big Ten is still a step up from the Missouri Valley. Humrichous is a very skilled player, but it is the physical nature of the Big Ten that can limit players who transfer up. If he can match the conference’s physicality then he should continue to dominate.
Illinois Outlook
Another large part of this is the success of Illinois this season. The Illini lost a ton of talent. Longtime center Coleman Hawkins transferred to Kansas State, Shannon was drafted, and Domask ran out of eligibility. To compete, coach Underwood utilized the transfer portal. In addition to Humrichous, Illinois brings in Carey Booth from Notre Dame and Kylan Boswell from Arizona. These two are both solid additions and should be contributors for the team. In fact, Boswell will likely be the starting point guard. If all of the new pieces can fit together, Illinois should have another strong season.
