At the half on Sunday in Detroit, Dalton Knecht was by himself for thirty seconds on the Tennessee basketball bench.
Amid the din, the guard for Tennessee basketball slumped back. Knecht waited on the sidelines while his teammates made their final shots before the break.
Knecht had produced yet another outstanding half. At the end of one of the best seasons ever for a Vol in history, he still had one more in him.
Guard Zakai Zeigler stated, “He’s going to do what he did (Sunday) every night.” “In our opinion, he is the nation’s top player. I will always view him as the greatest player in the nation.”
In his one and only season as a player, Knecht solidified his place among the Tennessee greats.
No. However, in Vols history, where does the move from Northern Colorado stand? He ought to be in the top five.
In my opinion, he is ranked one slot ahead of Allan Houston and two ahead of Ernie Grunfeld, and third overall behind Bernard King and Dale Ellis.
Which basketball players from Tennessee have had the greatest careers?
In just one season, Knecht cemented himself on the short list of all-time Tennessee players. One possible criticism of Knecht’s ranking, though, is the fact that he only participated in one season of football. Nevertheless, he may have had the finest single-season of any Tennessee player ever. In addition to becoming a unanimous first-team All-American and winning the SEC player of the year award, Knecht scored at a rate that is uncommon for a high-major athlete. On average, he scored 21.7.
points and frequently had games with ridiculous scoring. Zach Edey of Purdue is probably the winner of the national player of the year award, with him coming in second. With an SEC regular-season championship and an Elite Eight appearance, he was also the top player on what was maybe the greatest Tennessee team ever assembled.
His status as one of the greats is justified by his achievements alone. In Vols history, he is one of four unanimous first-team All-Americans. In 1977, King set a program record with an average of 25.8 points per game. Grant Williams and Ellis came next in 2019 and 1983, respectively.
Houston was the most prolific scorer in Tennessee history. He ranks second in SEC history with 2,801 points. Chris Lofton was the best 3-point shooter in Vols history − and SEC history − with 431 made threes. Grunfeld, who averaged 22.8 points per game, Tony White and Dyron Nix warrant discussion. Rod Widby does, too. He was the SEC player of the year on an SEC championship team and UT’s first NCAA Tournament team in 1967.
Where does Dalton Knecht rank in Tennessee basketball history?
The Tennessee record book should have a section called the Dalton Knecht addendum now. It is that production and how he scored that cements his place as one of the greats.
Knecht finished with 780 points, the second-most in a season by a Vol ever. The former junior-college star trails only Houston, who had 806 points in the 1990-91 season. He likely breaks Houston’s mark if not for a scoring lull in December while playing with an injured ankle.
