Vol Club Confidential: Dalton Knecht
Tennessee senior Dalton Knecht has been a phenomenal addition out of the transfer portal from Northern Colorado. In his one and only season on Rocky Top, it’s been a quick transition to instant success.
“It’s a real cool experience to go out there and play in front of a great fan base and play with my great teammates and coaching staff,” Knecht said. “They all help me get off to a good start.”
Tennessee has three early losses on the season due to an incredibly tough schedule. Playing the best in November should help them when they’re playing the best in March.
“It’s always big to play the top teams early on,” Knecht said. “To get those battle tests in early. Find out what you are made of early and fix what you need to work on. Then ultimately be a better team at the end of the year. I think it’s really going to help us no matter what happened in Hawaii or in North Carolina.”
Knecht has brought an incredible ability to score the basketball, but what else has he been able to bring to this team?
“A lot of people say scoring but I feel like an overall giving everything I have in the court every single day,” Knecht said. “I feel like I give my all to my teammates, the coaching staff and Tennessee.”
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Knecht knows how to score
Knecht can get his shot, a number of different ways which gives Tennessee someone to turn to when they need points. He knew he was pretty good at being able to deliver at a young age.
“I’d say very early on when I started playing,” Knecht said. “I was always working hard with my dad practicing the moves, just staying really confident on the court. It just always seemed to click for me and it’s a blessing to score the ball because everyone likes to score the ball. But there are other places in the game you have to play as well.”
He loves the big moments and that started at an early age with his first game winner.
“I always remember my first ever buzzer beater,” Knecht said. “I was playing up on varsity in AAU and I hit a game winner over like a 6’7 dude and I was like 5’4. That is just a crazy game winner that I will always remember.”
Now he is playing at high-level here on Rocky Top as he is quickly become a fan favorite.
“I think my favorite fan interaction was my first,” Knecht said. “I was with my mom and target and a mom and son came up to me and asked for a picture. It was really cool to see their smiles but my mom’s smile. She was proud of me. It’s just really cool.”
