The next time you see Dalton Knecht on television, he’ll be playing NBA preseason games for the Los Angeles Lakers. The next time you see the former Tennessee superstar in Knoxville, he might be having his jersey retired. At least, that’s what one former Vol thinks.
Former Tennessee star Ron Slay, who is now a talk-show host in Nashville for 104.5 The Zone, didn’t have any mixed feelings about what honor should be bestowed on Knecht. With no hesitation, Slay said Knecht should have his jersey retired.
Frankly, it’s hard to argue otherwise after Knecht was widely considered the second best player in college basketball last season, just behind Purdue’s Zach Edey, the center who helped end the Vols NCAA Tournament run when the Boilermakers bounced the Vols in the Elite Eight. Edey won College Basketball Player of Year in each of the last two seasons. That proved to be stout competition for Knecht.
“When you talk about retiring jerseys and things of that nature, I don’t know one person that could come in and play a year and get the accolades he did,” the former Vol forward said. “When you think about his impact, it’s different. it wasn’t expected. You heard about him, the way he was getting along with his teammates, but to go out and do it in those games and those times?”
That was, indeed, the special part. As talented as Knecht is, there was more in his development than just the ability to run, jump and shoot. Tennessee coach Rick Barnes certainly was a factor in Knecht’s development after he transferred from Northern Colorado before the 2023-24 season.
“He believes in himself,” Slay said. “The boost that he needed was from Coach Barnes and that family pushing him everyday, sharpening his skills…It all showed.”
Knecht finished fifth in scoring during the NBA summer league, with 21.3 points which ranked No. 1 among all rookies. He also averaged 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
