BYU Basketball Player Preview: Trevin Knell

Trevin Knell

Height: 6-5

Weight: 197

Hometown: Woods Cross, Utah

High School: Woods Cross High School

Class: Junior

Trevin Knell Player Preview

Knell was one of the best three-point shooters in the nation last season, shooting a blistering 45.3% from deep, which was 32nd in the country. Knell almost single-handedly sprung the upset over Gonzaga in the WCC Championship with a career high 20 points and a barrage of threes.

Knell averaged 16 minutes and 6 points a game, and I think those minutes will go up and BYU will set up more plays for him. Knell has two elite passers in Alex Barcello and Te’Jon Lucas to get him the ball and he is improving in coming off screens.

The next iteration in Knell’s game will be developing some sort of offense off the dribble and improved defense. 95 of Knell’s 120 field goal attempts last season were threes. That will always be the main part of his game, but being able to hit shots off the dribble after pump fakes and coming off screens will round out his game a bit more and give him some more breathing rim on the perimeter if defenders think he is a threat from more than just the three point line.

The number one thing Knell can improve is his defense. Knell only played 11 minutes versus UCLA because he had trouble matching up with the Bruins elite guard line. Knell doesn’t need to be a defensive stopper by any means, but if he can become a serviceable defender then coaches can keep him on the court more often.

Player Comp: Chase Fischer

Mark Pope brought Fischer over from Wake Forest and coached him for a couple seasons at BYU as an assistant. Fischer developed into a great scorer and one of the most prolific three-point shooters in BYU history. He hit over 100 threes in both of his seasons in Provo and averaged 18 points per game as a senior. Knell is actually a bit bigger than Fischer and can shoot the ball just as well. If Knell can come off screens as well as Fischer did and improve his defense, he can be a double digit scorer this year.

2021-2022 Expectations: Main Rotation Player

Knell likely won’t start, but he will be a main part of the rotation. He is one of the best shooters in the country, so if BYU can double his shot attempts then the offense will improve. I think Knell will become a more involved part of the offense and average 10+ points while shooting over 40% from three. If he can do that and be serviceable on defense then he will put pressure on opposing defenses and open driving up lanes when he is on the floor.