Dalton Knecht named one of four finalists for the Naismith Trophy
Dalton Knecht is one of four finalists for the Naismith Trophy Men’s Player of the Year award, given annually to the most outstanding player in college basketball. The Tennessee transfer wing is a finalist alongside Purdue’s Zach Edey, who won the award last season, North Carolina’s RJ Davis and Houston’s Jamal Shead.
The Naismith Trophy Men’s Player of the Year will be awarded on Sunday, April 7, at the Naismith Awards Brunch during the Final Four in Phoenix.
Knecht last week became Tennessee basketball’s fourth consensus First Team All-American, adding All-American honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the United States Basketball Writers Association.
Knecht joined Grant Williams, Bernard King and Dale Ellis as the only consensus First Team All-Americans for the Vols. There have been 25 Tennessee basketball players that were All-Americans, with Knecht being the fourth over the last 24 years.
Five Tennessee players have been consensus All-Americans: Chris Lofton, Williams, Ellis, King and now Knecht.
Up Next: No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 3 Creighton, Friday, 10:09 p.m. ET, TBS
Knecht, the 6-foot-6 Northern Colorado transfer wing has starred for Tennessee this season. He averaged 21.1 points per game this season and averaged 25.5 per game in SEC play, helping him win SEC Player of the Year and First Team All-SEC honors.
Knecht scored a career-high 40 points in Tennessee’s 85-81 loss to Kentucky on March 9 at Thompson-Boling Arena.
In 31 games during the regular season, he scored 25 or more points 10 time this season, 30 or more points seven times, 35 or more points five times and 39 or more points four times, with two 39-point games to go with the 40 he scored against Kentucky.
Dalton Knecht’s 25.5 points per game in SEC play led the nation in conference play
Knecht’s 21.1 points points per game came on 46.1% from the field and 39.1% from the 3-point line. He added 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, too.
He averaged 24.8 points in true road games, shooting 50.8% from the field and 43.0% from the 3-point line. He had 13 or more points in all 11 road games this season and had 22 or more in eight road games and 32 or more in three road games.
Knecht’s 25.5 points per game in SEC play during the regular season made him the league’s highest-scoring player over the last 22 seasons. He was also the highest scoring player in conference play for any Division I team this season and was the highest scoring player from any Power 6 conference since 2019-20.
His 36 points at Georgia on January 13 and 39 points against Florida on January 16 made him the first SEC player with back-to-back 35-point games since Shaquille O’Neal in 1991.
Knecht’s six straight games with 25 or more points between January 10 and January 30 — 28 at Mississippi State, 36 at Georgia, 39 vs. Florida, 25 vs. Alabama, 32 at Vanderbilt and 31 vs. South Carolina — made him the first player to do so since Devan Downey in 2010.
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