University of Tennessee Athletics
Photo by: Ian Cox/Tennessee Athletics
Knecht Named an NABC First Team All-American
March 20, 2024 | Men's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Dalton Knecht of the University of Tennessee men's basketball team is an NABC First Team All-American, as announced Wednesday morning.
The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) is the third of the four outlets—the others are the Associated Press, The Sporting News and the USBWA—utilized for, in aggregate, determining consensus All-America status. Knecht has thus far claimed first-team recognition from all three—the USBWA team is not out yet—that have announced their picks.
Knecht is third Tennessee player to earn NABC First Team All-America designation, joining Grant Williams (2018-19) and Dale Ellis (1982-83), the former of whom also competed under the tutelage of Rick Barnes.
A fifth-year guard, Knecht is averaging 21.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game in his first and only season as a Volunteer. He is shooting 46.5 percent from the floor, including 39.7 percent from 3-point range.
The SEC Player of the Year from the league's coaches and the Associated Press, the latter in unanimous fashion, Knecht is among five finalists for the Julius Erving Award. He is also one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy and one of 15 players in the Wooden Award National Ballot.
Knecht, who has tied the school record for both 35-point (five) and 39-point (three) showings in a single season, is one of three SEC players who garnered NABC All-America plaudits. Auburn's Johni Broome and Alabama's Mark Sears both collected third-team accolades.
A 6-foot-6, 213-pounder, Knecht helped lead Tennessee to the outright SEC regular season title. He averaged 25.5 points per game in league play, the second-best mark for any individual in the conference over the last 22 years (2002-24) and the top tally of any Division I player in league play, regardless of affiliation, in 2023-24.
Knecht and sixth-ranked, second-seeded Tennessee (24-8, 14-4 SEC) take on No. 15-seeded Saint Peter's in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, with action slated for Thursday at 9:20 p.m. 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. Â
2023-24 NABC ALL-AMERICANS
First Team
R.J. Davis, North Carolina
Zach Edey, Purdue
Dalton Knecht, Tennessee
Jamal Shead, Houston
Tristen Newton, Connecticut
Second Team
Kyle Filipowski, Duke
DaRon Holmes II, Dayton
Tyler Kolek, Marquette
Jaedon LeDee, San Diego State
Caleb Love, Arizona
Third Team
Johni Broome, Auburn
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Kevin McCullar Jr., Kansas
Baylor Scheierman, Creighton
Mark Sears, Alabama
The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) is the third of the four outlets—the others are the Associated Press, The Sporting News and the USBWA—utilized for, in aggregate, determining consensus All-America status. Knecht has thus far claimed first-team recognition from all three—the USBWA team is not out yet—that have announced their picks.
Knecht is third Tennessee player to earn NABC First Team All-America designation, joining Grant Williams (2018-19) and Dale Ellis (1982-83), the former of whom also competed under the tutelage of Rick Barnes.
A fifth-year guard, Knecht is averaging 21.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game in his first and only season as a Volunteer. He is shooting 46.5 percent from the floor, including 39.7 percent from 3-point range.
The SEC Player of the Year from the league's coaches and the Associated Press, the latter in unanimous fashion, Knecht is among five finalists for the Julius Erving Award. He is also one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy and one of 15 players in the Wooden Award National Ballot.
Knecht, who has tied the school record for both 35-point (five) and 39-point (three) showings in a single season, is one of three SEC players who garnered NABC All-America plaudits. Auburn's Johni Broome and Alabama's Mark Sears both collected third-team accolades.
A 6-foot-6, 213-pounder, Knecht helped lead Tennessee to the outright SEC regular season title. He averaged 25.5 points per game in league play, the second-best mark for any individual in the conference over the last 22 years (2002-24) and the top tally of any Division I player in league play, regardless of affiliation, in 2023-24.
Knecht and sixth-ranked, second-seeded Tennessee (24-8, 14-4 SEC) take on No. 15-seeded Saint Peter's in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, with action slated for Thursday at 9:20 p.m. 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. Â
2023-24 NABC ALL-AMERICANS
First Team
R.J. Davis, North Carolina
Zach Edey, Purdue
Dalton Knecht, Tennessee
Jamal Shead, Houston
Tristen Newton, Connecticut
Second Team
Kyle Filipowski, Duke
DaRon Holmes II, Dayton
Tyler Kolek, Marquette
Jaedon LeDee, San Diego State
Caleb Love, Arizona
Third Team
Johni Broome, Auburn
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Kevin McCullar Jr., Kansas
Baylor Scheierman, Creighton
Mark Sears, Alabama
Players Mentioned
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