Debate if you will where Dalton Knecht ranks among the greatest Tennessee basketball players of all time. However, one thing is clear, he’s on the verge of completing the best season by any Vol in its long, esteemed history.
Knecht became the first player in school history to win SEC Player of the Week Honors four times in a single campaign since the award came into existence in 1984-85.
Only five Vols—Allan Houston, Chris Lofton (seven), Dyron Nix (five), Jarnell Stokes and Grant Williams—have that many in a full Tennessee career – that’s a FULL career. Knecht is also the first player from any school to win four SEC Player of the Week awards in a season since Arkansas’ Mason Jones in 2019-20. Therefore, we can go ahead and place Knecht atop the list of players over the last 35 years or so.
While the regular season isn’t over, Knecht’s season has already surpassed the best seasons in Tennessee basketball history because of the way he can score from three levels. No other aforementioned Vol could score from the three-point line, intermediate area and finish at the hoop. Knecht has done all of those things consistently at a high level.
Did anyone notice the 39 points against Auburn last week? Yes, Knecht also has that clutch gene that everyone is always pining about.
There is one player that has the strongest argument to Knecht’s run in 2023-24, which will also be judged by what the Vols do in the postseason. Former Vol Bernard King was a monster when he was named NCAA consensus All-American and Associated Press Co-SEC Player of the Year, alongside teammate Ernie Grunfeld, in 1977, which is why King can’t be a candidate for best season ever. He had Grunfeld!
King was not asked to lead a team in clutch time as Knecht has been asked to do in a perimeter, isolation situation. Because of Grunfeld, King wasn’t asked to handle the ball on the perimeter. Obviously the game has changed, but King’s performance in his final season as a Vol just doesn’t compare to what Knecht can bring to the table on a nightly basis.
Is this the best Tennessee basketball team ever? That’s debatable. Is Knecht the best player in Tennessee basketball history? With just one season of eligibility, that’s a tough claim to make. However, is Knecht completing the best season in Tennessee basketball history? No question.
