Tennessee basketball's Dalton Knecht wins Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year award
Dalton Knecht on Saturday was named the winner of the 2024 Julius Erving Award, the award given annually to college basketball’s top small forward. He starred for Tennessee basketball his season, averaging 21.7 points per game while leading Tennessee to the Elite Eight in his lone season with the Vols.
Knecht, the first Tennessee player to win the award, was one of five finalists for the award, winning it over Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman, Weber State’s Dillon Jones, Washington’s Keion Brooks Jr. and Memphis small forward David Jones.
Earlier this week Knecht was named the winner of the Riley Wallace Award, which goes to the top transfer in college basketball.
Knecht scored 104 points in four NCAA Tournament games and set a new Tennessee single-game tournament scoring record with the 37 points he had in the 72-66 loss to Purdue on Sunday in the Midwest Regional final.
He’s one of four finalists for the Naismith Trophy Men’s Player of the Year award, given to the most outstanding player in college basketball. Purdue’s Zach Edey, who won the award last season, North Carolina’s RJ Davis and Houston’s Jamal Shead are the other three finalists.
Dalton Knecht is fourth Tennessee player to be consensus First Team All-American
Last month Knecht became Tennessee basketball’s fourth consensus First Team All-American, getting All-American honors from the Sporting News, 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.
Knecht averaged 25.5 per game in SEC play, helping him win SEC Player of the Year and First Team All-SEC honors. He scored a career-high 40 points in Tennessee’s 85-81 loss to Kentucky on March 9 at Thompson-Boling Arena.
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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.
25.5 points per game in SEC play was highest in the league in 22 seasons
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.
