Tennessee hosted Senior Day before the Vols’ regular-season finale against Kentucky on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville. The Vols honored four seniors during the presentation: fifth-year senior Josiah-Jordan James, fifth-year senior Santiago Vescovi, first-year transfer Dalton Knecht, and two-year walk-on Colin Coyne.
James and Vescovi began their Tennessee careers during the 2019-2020 season but came to Rocky Top in very different ways. James was a five-star prospect from the 2019 recruiting class while Vescovi came to Tennessee from the NBA Global Academy system and was thrust into the fire during the start of SEC play for Rick Barnes’ squad. While teammates have come and gone during their five-year span on Rocky Top, James and Vescovi have been two cornerstone pieces for the Tennessee program.
Wanting to improve his game on a bigger stage for his final year in college basketball, Dalton Knecht transferred to Rocky Top after two years at Northeastern Junior College (Colo.) and two years at the University of Northern Colorado. Knecht made an immediate impression on the Tennessee fanbase and the college basketball world as a proven scorer to help Tennessee reach the next level. After several impressive 30+ point games throughout the season, Knecht finally hit the 40-point mark in the regular-season finale against Kentucky on Saturday in Knoxville.
While he may not get much time on the court, Colin Coyne’s role as a walk-on big man for the Tennessee program has been invaluable, according to head coach Rick Barnes. The 6-foot-8 center was at the University of Mary Washington for his first three years before heading to Tennessee to finish out the final two years of his college career. Barnes told a story on Friday about how Coyne spent hours working on his left-handed shot in the paint before the Auburn game so that Tennessee would have a good emulation of Auburn forward Johni Broome’s left-handed shot while preparing in practice. While Coyne may not be seen too often on the court, his presence on the team and on the scout unit has directly impacted Tennessee’s ability to win over the last two years.
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Check out Tennessee’s Senior Day presentations for their four seniors on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville below:
Tennessee G Dalton Knecht
Tennessee career stats: 20.7 PPG, 47.3 FG%, 40.0 3FG%, 4.8 RPG, 1.8 APG
Tennessee G Santiago Vescovi
Tennessee career stats: 10.6 PPG, 39.6 FG%, 37.6 3FG%, 4.1 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.4 SPG
Tennessee F Josiah-Jordan James
Tennessee career stats: 8.9 PPG, 38.5 FG%, 32.5 3FG%, 5.8 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.2 SPG
Tennessee F Colin Coyne
Tennessee career stats:4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal, 7 games played
