Man, it’s wild watching players develop over time. I’ve been keeping tabs on a few guys here and there, just sort of my own little hobby, tracking how they change.
I remember first hearing about Dalton Knecht, maybe seeing a few clips when he was back at Northern Colorado. Seemed like a solid player, good scorer, you know? Looked like a guard, played like a guard.
But then, things started shifting. Especially when he made that jump to Tennessee, I started catching more of his games on TV. And I kept doing a double-take. I’d think to myself, ‘Wait, does he look taller?’ It wasn’t like an overnight thing, felt more gradual when I was just casually watching.
My Process of Noticing
So, I started paying closer attention, really focusing during the games he played. It’s not like I had stats on his height from year to year right in front of me at first. It was more about the eye test, how he looked playing against the same kind of defenders.
- Playing Higher: The first thing I really clocked was how he was getting up. He seemed to be finishing way higher above the rim, more consistently than the clips I recalled from his earlier days.
- Different Frame: His whole body just looked longer. More stretched out, you know? He didn’t have that same stocky guard look anymore. Looked more like a wing.
- Matchups Changed: I started noticing he wasn’t looking small against bigger guards or even some forwards anymore. Sometimes, he genuinely looked like he had the size advantage, which definitely wasn’t my first impression of him way back.
Then you start hearing the commentators mention it more, see the updated heights listed on rosters and broadcasts. It kind of confirmed what my eyes were telling me. Okay, so I wasn’t just seeing things, he really did shoot up.
It really clicked for me during one specific game later in the season. I can’t recall the exact opponent right now, but he was physically imposing himself in a way that just screamed ‘growth spurt’. He was taking bumps, finishing through contact, and his release point on his jumper looked way higher. The difference was just plain obvious at that point compared to the player I first watched.
It’s just fascinating to track that stuff. You see these young guys, and then suddenly, a few years down the line, maybe even during college, they hit another growth spurt. That physical maturation, especially getting taller like Knecht apparently did, it totally changes the equation for a player. It clearly opened up a whole new dimension to his game, impacting how he scores and defends. Just shows development isn’t always just skills practice in the gym; sometimes your body just decides to grow.
Anyway, just sharing what I observed and kinda tracked myself. Always interesting to witness that kind of physical transformation firsthand, even just through watching games.
