Tennessee Vols guard Dalton Knecht earns AP First Team All-American honors
For just the second time in over 40 years, Tennessee has one of the best basketball players in the country according to the Associated Press. The AP released its All-American college basketball team, and Tennessee Vols guard Dalton Knecht earned first-team honors. Knecht, who is averaging 21.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game, […]
For just the second time in over 40 years, Tennessee has one of the best basketball players in the country according to the Associated Press.
The AP released its All-American college basketball team, and Tennessee Vols guard Dalton Knecht earned first-team honors.
Knecht, who is averaging 21.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game, was named as a first team selection on 56 of 62 ballots and earned 298 points in the voting process. Both were second most among all players.
Knecht becomes the fourth AP first team All-American selection in Tennessee basketball history. The other three players include Tennessee legends Grant Williams (2018-19), Dale Ellis (1982-83), and Bernard King (1976-77).
Having already earned SEC player of the year honors, Knecht now will wait and see if he wins one of the national player of the year awards. They include the Naismith, John Wooden, Oscar Robertson, NABC Player of the Year, and AP College Basketball Player of the Year Awards. Typically, over the last several years, they've gone to the same player, including last year when Purdue's Zach Edey swept the awards.
Perhaps Edey will have some true competition this time around from Knecht. A national player of the year award would theoretically make Knecht's jersey eligible for retirement under school rules by meeting his third requirement to go with SEC player of the year and AP first team All-American. Winning the national championship would also potentially do the trick.
To that, Tennessee fans are certainly saying, "why not both?" We'll see soon enough starting on Thursday night if Knecht and the Vols can deliver.
CBS Sports analyst takes a dig at Tennessee football while picking Vols to win the NCAA tournament
A backhanded compliment for Tennessee fans
