Tennessee’s media section had a little bit more average height per person on Saturday night in Nashville.
While the usual crowd of 8-12 people stood around Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes and guard Zakai Zeigler during their postgame press conferences from a hallway in Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium, some late additions made their way over for Dalton Knecht’s interview.
Jonas Aidoo, Jordan Gainey, Jahmai Mashack, Tobe Awaka, JP Estrella, Freddie Dilione, and DJ Jefferson became the newest members of the Tennessee media on Saturday night, though their collegiate journalistic professionalism might need some pointers.
“The White Mamba! The White Mamba!” Estrella shouted out as Knecht made his way to the interview location, while another teammate yelled out “Oh my gosh, it’s Dalton Knecht!”
The hallway was now overflowing with the crowd surrounding Knecht. Even Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse had to weave his way through the mass of cramped people just to exit his own press conference location.
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“We’ll start with the media members and then go to the players afterward,” Tennessee media director Alex Schwartz said to start Knecht’s interview, prompting a hearty laugh from the crowd.
Knecht’s interview portion with the credentialed media lasted for about three minutes while his teammates took up the final minute.
“What drills as a child have you done to become so great?” freshman guard Freddie Dilione asked.
“How does it feel to be nicknamed the White Mamba?” freshman forward JP Estrella followed up with.
Then came the best question of the night, arguably.
“Are you going to keep flirting around 40 points or when are you going to get it?” Jonas Aidoo asked.
“Great question, great question,” Mashack quickly said.
“Next question,” Knecht replied, holding back a laugh and a smile.
The attention around Knecht was well deserved. Knecht’s 32-point output on Saturday against rival Vanderbilt propels his five-game scoring stretch to 160 total points. The former Northern Colorado transfer has been unstoppable over the last three weeks as he continues to gain more and more national, local, and team attention. No. 5 Tennessee defeated Vanderbilt 75-62 on Saturday in Nashville for their 15th win of the season.
Jonas Aidoo in particular is hilarious in the background as Dalton Knecht takes questions from reporters, and teammates. pic.twitter.com/zQbABdvxWw
— Joe Rexrode (@joerexrode) January 28, 2024
To watch the full Dalton Knecht interview on Saturday, check out the video below.
