'We just gotta prepare': Josiah-Jordan James 'confident' Vols will step up if Dalton Knecht is sidelined

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Josiah-Jordan James acknowledged the adjustment No. 10 Tennessee is going to have to make if Dalton Knecht misses time with the left ankle injury he suffered late in the second half at No. 17 North Carolina.

“I mean, everything’s an adjustment,” James said after the Vols lost 100-92 in the ACC-SEC Challenge at the Dean Smith Center.

What doesn’t change is the mindset, the same one the program has always had.

“Our mentality is next man up mentality,” James said,” and we just gotta prepare.”

Knecht will be nearly impossible to replace. All the fifth-year senior transfer did Wednesday was scored 37 points on 17 shots in 37 minutes before suffering the ankle injury with 1:39 left in the game.

He had carried Tennessee (4-3) back into the game with 22 points in the second half, helping nearly erase a 24-point deficit after the Vols gave up 61 points in the first half.

Rick Barnes: Dalton Knecht ‘stepped on somebody’s foot, turned his ankle’

Knecht tied the record for the most points scored by an opposing player at the Dean Smith Center, matching La Salle’s Lionel Simmons‘ 37 in January 1988. Knecht would’ve had a chance to break the record at the foul line had he not been injured.

He drove the lane and dropped to the floor on on the way to the rim after stepping on the defender’s foot. Knecht tried to get up initially but had to lay back down on the floor. He was carried off with a trainer under each arm, not putting any body weight on the injured left leg.

Jonas Aidoo made two free throws in Knecht’s place, cutting the deficit to six. It was as close as the Vols would get in the loss.

“He stepped on somebody’s foot, turned his ankle,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said during his postgame press conference. “It looked like he got it pretty good because he’s the kind of guy that, he bounces back.

“And for him not to get up, he got it pretty good … he stepped on somebody’s foot and rolled it.”

Barnes didn’t mention a timetable for Knecht moving forward. He was seen after the game at times on crutches and other times walking without them, able to put weight on the ankle.

The Vols are off until Tuesday, when they host George Mason at Thompson-Boling Arena. Illinois comes to Knoxville on December 9. There are six non-conference games on schedule before SEC play opens with Ole Miss at home on January 6.

James had 20 to go with Knecht’s 37, Jonas Aidoo scored 13 and Jordan Gainey added 11. Zakai Zeigler scored nine points after rejoining Tennessee’s starting lineup.

Santiago Vescovi was scoreless in 14 minutes and was benched for most of the second half, with Barnes blaming Vescovi’s inconsistency for the benching.

Up Next: No. 10 Tennessee vs. George Mason, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network+

Knecht became the first Tennessee player to score 35 or more points since Grant Williams scored 43 at Vanderbilt in January 2019.

Knecht finished 13-for-17 from the floor, 4-for-8 from the 3-point line and 7-for-8 at the foul line. He had a team-high six rebounds and added three assists. He went 8-for-9 in the second half, including 3-for-4 from three.

He scored 28 in his unofficial debut, leading the Vols to a charity exhibition win at Michigan State, scored 24 two weeks ago in Tennessee’s win at Wisconsin and had 46 points over three games in the Maui Invitational last week.

Knecht is Tennessee’s leading scorer by a large margin, averaging 20.3 points per game on 50.5% shooting from the floor and 40.5% shooting from the 3-point line.

Jordan Gainey is the second leading scorer at 11.6 points per game and James is averaging 10.9.

“I’m comfortable with anybody stepping up and taking (Knecht’s) place,” James said. “Obviously it’ll be different just because of how well he scores the ball offensively, but somebody else can come in and add something completely different that can change.

“I’m confident in whoever needs to step up will step up.”