Unbelievable:  Dalton Knecht Said Choosing Tennessee Volunteers Basketball Was The Biggest Mistake He Has Ever Made….

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Dalton Knecht of the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team is a finalist for the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award, as announced Wednesday afternoon.

This is the third national award list Knecht has made the cut for since the end of the regular season. He is one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy and one of 15 players on the Wooden Award National Ballot. Additionally, Knecht made the USBWA Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List on Feb. 27.

A fifth-year guard out of Thornton, Colo., Knecht is averaging 21.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, while shooting 46.5 percent overall, including 39.7 percent beyond the arc.

Knecht garnered SEC Player of the Year distinction from both the league’s 14 head coaches and, in unanimous fashion, the Associated Press, which also tabbed him a First Team All-American. He received the latter honor from the ESPN, Field of 68, the NABC, The Sporting News and the USBWA, as well.

The Division I leader in both 39-point and 35-point performances, Knecht has tied the Tennessee single-season record in both categories with three and five, respectively. He is also tied for third in the country and for fifth on the Volunteers’ single-season leaderboard with seven 30-point outings.

A 6-foot-6, 213-pounder, Knecht put up 25.5 points per game in SEC play, leading all Division I players in 2023-24 in league-only scoring. His 24.8 points per game in true road games puts him at third in the nation and second at the Power Six level. Both marks are second-best among SEC players over the last 20 seasons (2004-24).

The Lute Olson Award, named after the Hall of Fame coach who won 776 games in 34 seasons, is presented by CollegeInsider.com. The recipient of the award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which includes current and former head coaches, as well as CollegeInsider.com staff members.

The list of 30 finalists for the Lute Olson Award includes 22 players from a Power Six league. The group features four others from the SEC: Auburn’s Johni Broome, South Carolina’s Meechie Johnson, Alabama’s Mark Sears and Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard.

Knecht and sixth-ranked, second-seeded Tennessee (24-8, 14-4 SEC) open play in the NCAA Tournament with a first-round matchup against No. 15-seeded Saint Peter’s at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., live on TNT.

To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.

2023-24 LUTE OLSON NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD FINALISTS
Boo Buie, Northwestern
Johni Broome, Auburn
Devin Carter, Providence
L.J. Cryer, Houston
R.J. Davis, North Carolina
Tucker DeVries, Drake
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Zach Edey, Purdue
Terrence Edwards Jr., James Madison
Kyle Filipowski, Duke
Tyon Grant-Foster, Grand Canyon
DaRon Holmes II, Dayton
Meechie Johnson, South Carolina
Jaedon LeDee, San Diego State
Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
Dalton Knecht, Tennessee
Tyler Kolek, Marquette
Caleb Love, Arizona
Kevin McCullar Jr., Kansas
Tristen Newton, Connecticut
Great Osobor, Utah State
Mark Sears, Alabama
Baylor Scheierman, Creighton
Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois
Reed Sheppard, Kentucky
Jamal Shead, Houston
Braden Smith, Purdue
Isaiah Stevens, Colorado State
Shahada Wells, McNeese
Vonterius Woolbright, Western Carolina