'That's the dude from Northern Colorado?': The moment Tennessee knew Dalton Knecht was special

CHARLOTTE — Rod Clark was so impressed with what he saw that he had to go back and clip the video. It was a workout at Pratt Pavilion early in the summer and Dalton Knecht had done something so spectacular that the third-year Tennessee assistant coach had to send the highlight to his friends.

“He got in an isolation,” Clark told Volquest, “and he kind of a did this kind of side-drag dribble.”

Knecht then used the hesitation move he’s gone too so many times this season and drove to the rim. One of Tennessee’s bigs met Knecht at the rim — Clark couldn’t remember exactly if it was Jonas Aidoo or Tobe Awaka, but it didn’t matter — and adjusted to the defense in midair. 

“He went up with two hands,” Clark said, “like swiveled the ball to the side and tried to dunk it. And he got fouled. I remember recording that after practice and I sent it to like six of my friends in coaching. Like, look at this.”

“That’s the dude from Northern Colorado?” one coach replied.

“Oh,” another said, “he’s going to be good.”

Clark could only laugh looking back at the conversation so many months and so many jaw-dropping Knecht highlights later.

“I was like yeah, that’s what it looks like to me,” Clark said.

Forget the dunk against Michigan State or the 28 points Knecht scored in his unofficial Tennessee debut in the 89-88 exhibition win at the Breslin Center in East Lansing in October. 

Forget the 24 points he scored while carrying the Vols to a wire-to-wire win at Wisconsin in the first week of the regular season in November.

Forget, too, the 23 points and team-high eight rebounds Knecht had Thursday night in his NCAA Tournament debut, leading No. 2 Tennessee to an 83-49 win over No. 15 Saint Peter’s.

To Clark, this was the moment, in the heat of the summer inside Tennessee’s practice facility, that Knecht arrived.

“I knew from that point,” Clark said, “he was going to be really good.”

It was nothing Clark hadn’t seen before. He saw similar go-to moves from Knecht while scouting him out of the NCAA Transfer Portal. But it was this one in particular that made Clark believe the elite talent was going was going to click after his move from Northern Colorado to college basketball’s biggest stages.

“I felt like when he did the one-on-one iso, it translated,” Clark said. “I felt like his dribble moves translated. I felt like his hesi that I saw him make so much on film, I felt like it translated at that point.”

Dalton Knecht: From translating to transcendent

Transcendent might be the better description. 

All Knecht has done in his one season at Tennessee is become a consensus First Team All-American — just the fourth in program history, joining Bernard King, Dale Ellis and Grant Williams — and win SEC Player of the Year.

He entered the NCAA Tournament averaging 21.1 points per game, shooting 46.5% from the field and 39.7% from the 3-point line. 

He averaged 24.8 points in true road games and 25.5 points in SEC play during the regular season, becoming the league’s highest-scoring player over the last 22 seasons.

He scored 25 or more points 10 times, 30 or more points seven times, 35 or more points five times and 39 or more points three times, including 40 against Kentucky on senior day.

But on Wednesday Santiago Vescovi’s mind went back tot he summer months for that first wow moment. It didn’t take long after the fifth-year senior guard got matched up with Knecht to know this transfer was different. 

“He was making shots,” Vescovi said. “Highly contested, I was there, put my hand up, I jumped and everything. He still knocked them down. He was swishing the ball every time. It looked like there was literally nothing you could do defensively.”

Vescovi at first was ready to concede the attempts. Those shots were bad shots, based on the defense he was playing. 

“And he was just making them,” Vescovi said. “That’s the first time I realized, like, oh. I’m telling you, that was the practice. It was the beginning of me thinking he was really this good.”

Vescovi also realized that there was more to Knecht’s 6-foot-6 frame than met the eye at first glance. The long, lanky wing didn’t have a particularly fast release on his jump shot, but he shot the ball from a spot that made it hard to defend and even harder to block. 

“He’s tall and has a big wing span,” Vescovi said, “but he just moves at his own pace and rhythm. And even if you’re there and you jump, it doesn’t seem to faze him at all.”

‘Sometimes it’s like a cheat code. Just get him the ball and he starts scoring.’

Jahmai Mashack had his own awakening, but it wasn’t in practice. It was in one of the early one-on-ones against Knecht that would soon become famous.

Before practices throughout the season, or when Rick Barnes wanted to ratchet up the intensity in practice, it was always Mashack guarding Knecht. Tennessee’s best perimeter defender against what would prove to be one of college basketball’s most lethal scorers. 

“It takes a lot for me to respect somebody’s game,” Mashack said, “but he quickly had a level of competition that raises his game, just like I was raise mine. From the jump, that was something I noticed.” 

Mashack echoed Vescovi in his description of what makes Knecht such a tough guard. The height, the wingspan, the strength and explosive athleticism. The high release and how engineers open looks in the face of a highly contesting defender. 

“He fades away a lot, so he just knows how to create space for his jumper,” Mashack said. “…  it’s hard to block his shot. You have to really time it.”

The timing couldn’t have been better for Tennessee and Knecht. The Vols badly needed an elite scorer out of the portal to pair with their defensive brand of basketball that has defined the Barnes era.

And Knecht just happened to worship at the altar of Kevin Durant, his favorite player growing up, and knew he had to improve his defense to get to the next level. Barnes checked both boxes, coaching Durant at Texas and having a zero tolerance policy on defense. 

There was a culture fit that Mashack noticed, too. Knecht’s work ethic met the Tennessee standard from the moment he walked through the door.

“For him to have that, I knew it was going to go a long way because he works on his game super hard,” Mashack said. “He works on his game a lot.”

And he hates losing. Even in one-on-ones. Even back in the summer. 

“Seeing how competitive he was,” Mashack said, “it was like this guy is going to be good, he’s going to fit in well with this team.”

The only remaining question is how far Knecht can take this Tennessee team. The Vols, thanks to Knecht, take the most firepower they’ve had into March Madness since Grant Williams led the 2019 team to 31 wins and a Sweet Sixteen berth. 

If all else fails, get the ball to Knecht, get him in an isolation and get out of the way. It’s something that has worked since summer workouts at Pratt Pavilion. 

“Sometimes it’s like a cheat code,” Vescovi said. “Just get him the ball and he starts scoring. He gets in his own rhythm and he can shoot over people. It’s really hard for people to stop him.”