Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht was named the Naismith Men’s College Player of the Week on Monday afternoon, as announced on social media.
Knecht won the award following a week in which he averaged 32 points per game in two blowout victories over SEC rivals Florida and Alabama. The senior guard has scored 128 points over his last four games as one of the nation’s standout players.
Knecht is the first Tennessee player to win the Naismith College Player of the Week award since VFL Grant Williams did so on Jan. 28, 2019.
Our @jerseymikes Naismith Men's
College Player of the Week is Dalton Knecht 🏀The @Vol_Hoops guard led the Volunteers to a 2-0 week, that included a jaw-dropping 39-point performance in Tuesday’s win over Florida 💪
He averaged 32 points, 6 rebounds and went 100 % (17-of-17)… pic.twitter.com/T4jjdlAZ6t
— Naismith Awards (@NaismithTrophy) January 22, 2024
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Dalton Knecht was remarkable against two of Tennessee’s biggest rivals in Knoxville this week. As previously mentioned, Knecht averaged 32 points per game over the last week with an unbelievable 39-point game against Florida and a 25-point game against Alabama.
Knecht’s two performances helped propel Tennessee to a 19-point win over the Gators and a 20-point win over the Crimson Tide as the Volunteers solidified themselves as one of the most dangerous teams in the college basketball landscape. Knecht nearly recorded a double-double against Florida with eight rebounds as well.
“That was pretty impressive,” Rick Barnes said of Knecht’s 39-point game against Florida. “I thought his teammates started feeling it, too, that he knew that (Knecht) was in a little bit of, obviously, a good rhythm, a good place, and him trying to really get him the ball. And know that when he gets that look that he was going to go with it.”
One of the most important statistics of Knecht’s week is the fact that despite recording 64 points he only turned the ball over twice. The 6-foot-6 senior also went a perfect 17-for-17 from the free throw line.
The former Northern Colorado transfer has already proven how valuable he is from an offensive perspective, but it was really noticed on Saturday when a bad shooting day (40% FG, 17% 3FG) still resulted in an impressive 25-point scoring output against the Tide.
Dalton Knecht is averaging 18.8 points per game this season, which is good for 54th among all college basketball players. Knecht has averaged 25.2 points per game in the month of January, though. On the season, Knecht is also averaging 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game over 18 games.
Knecht and Tennessee (14-4, 4-1 SEC) will return to the court this Saturday evening in Nashville against Vanderbilt (5-13, 0-5 SEC) at 6:00 p.m. ET after an open date in the midweek slate.
