Dalton Knecht bids farewell after one-year star run with Vols: 'I just loved it. I love Tennessee.'

DETROIT — Dalton Knecht went out in a Tennessee uniform the same way he entered, scoring and starring at nearly every turn. And for a moment Sunday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena, it looked like he might carry these Vols to Phoenix for their first appearance in the Final Four. 

He made six of his first nine shots against Purdue in the Elite Eight and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the 3-point line when he made back-to-back threes, giving Tennessee a 32-21 lead with 5:11 left in the first half and forcing a Purdue timeout. 

“DK,” Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler said, “he’s a fighter. Every night he’s going to do what he did tonight.”

Only Knecht couldn’t do enough this time. Purdue scored 13 straight points after Knecht’s consecutive threes and closed the first half on a 15-2 run — a Knecht transition dunk were the only Tennessee points — on the way to a 72-66 win in the Midwest Regional final.

Knecht finished with 37 points in his 37 minutes, with his heroics falling just short. When he was asked during his postgame press conference about putting his team on his back, he disagreed.

“I don’t think I put the team on my back,” Knecht said. “I think all of us carried each other. I think every single one of us did what we needed to do. At the end of the day, they were just the better team. 

“We always were coming out swinging. I just love these guys and I wish we could have one more game.”

Dalton Knecht: ‘I’m disappointed that we ended here, but I think we’re all proud of each other’

It ended one game short of a Final Four, but also ended with Knecht helping Tennessee reach the Elite Eight for just the second time in program history.

“I’m disappointed that we ended here,” Knecht said, “but I think we’re all proud of each other, of what we have accomplished.”

Sunday’s game was Knecht’s eighth scoring 30 or more points during his 36 games in a Tennessee uniform. He scored 37 or more five times, with two 39-point games and a career-high 40 on his senior day against Kentucky. 

He scored 20 or more points 19 times and scored 25 or more points 13 times. 

“Dalton offensively could do a lot of different things,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said after the loss, “especially with so much attention put on him.”

It started with 28 points in the exhibition win at Michigan State in October, continued with 24 points in a wire-to-wire road win at Wisconsin in November and rarely, if ever, slowed down over the next four months. 

“He’s not afraid of the moment,” Barnes said. “That’s the one thing that I think I probably learned after our very first game against Michigan State, exhibition. He surprised us all. What we realized then is he wasn’t afraid of the moment.”

Knecht averaged 21.7 points per game and finished with 780 total points, just 26 points shy of tying Allan Houston’s single-season scoring record of 806 in 1990-91.

“We think he’s the best player in the country,” Zeigler said. “That will always be how I see him in my eyes, best player in the country.”

Knecht after the game didn’t talk about his accomplishments during his legendary one-and-done run at Tennessee, where he found a perfect fit with the Vols after transferring from Northern Colorado.

Instead, he choked back tears and his voice cracked as he talked about his teammates.

“All these guys are my brothers for life,” Knecht said. “They accepted me for this one year and I can’t thank them enough, that they let me come in and be exactly who I am. I just can’t thank them enough. All these guys are my brothers.”

He picked Tennessee over Indiana and Oregon last April, committing to the Vols with two things in mind. He grew up idolizing Kevin Durant and wanted to be coached by KD’s college coach, Rick Barnes. He wanted to improve on the defensive end, too, before making the move to the NBA.

“I would say it’s by far the closest I’ve ever had to be with a coach,” Knecht said of Barnes. “He’s coached me super hard ever since I told him on my visit that I wanted to be coached super hard, and he’s held up his hand. He’s been beyond just that.”

Dalton Knecht: 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 45.8 FG%, 39.7% 3FG

Knecht said Barnes told him after the game how proud he was of him. A picture from Tennessee athletics showed Knecht with a towel over his head in his locker stall, with Barnes bent over hugging his star player.

“I love Coach to death,” Knecht said, “and I’m just sad that I won’t ever be able to be coached by him again, but for sure I’ll still be around, still looking for advice from Coach.”

In 11 months at Tennessee, the trajectory of Knecht’s life changed, going from a Second Team All-Big Sky wing at Northern Colorado last season to a lesser known name in the NCAA Transfer Portal to a generational talent and scorer with the Vols. 

“It’s changed a lot for me and my family, coming in here for this one year,” Knecht said. “Everyone accepted me — coaches, teammates, Vol Nation, everybody. They accepted me from the jump and I can’t thank everybody enough.”

Knecht was asked in the locker room the one thing he loved most about Tennessee but couldn’t focus on one particular area. Instead, he continued to focus on the fans and their love. 

“I can’t thank them enough,” Knecht said, “I just loved it. I love Tennessee.”