Dalton Knecht shows up on offense and defense for Vols in win over Wofford

After dropping 24 points in Tennessee's win on the road at Wisconsin last week, Dalton Knecht was greeted by his teammates in the locker room who congratulated him for the performance that put the country on watch.

However, Knecht wasn't satisfied. Instead, he told his teammates that he has to get better defensively.

In the Vols' next match, that's exactly what he did.

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On Tuesday, Tennessee took down Wofford 82-61. During the game, Knecht continued his case of being one of the best players in the country while leading the Vols with 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting.

This came in the form of 14 second-half points to extend Tennessee's lead in a previously close affair. The production came at all three levels. Knecht hit on a 3-pointer, midranges and finished at the rim.

“I mean, he’s confident," said head coach Rick Barnes on Knecht. "... I don’t think he gives himself enough credit to his midrange game and getting downhill. I don’t. I don’t think he gives himself enough credit for that. And again, he can shoot it. There’s going to be some nights when he really gets it going and starts striping it, but you got to have a feel for the game and how the game’s being played and make those adjustments.”

While Knecht dazzled on offense, what also stood out was his improvement on the defensive end. After calling himself out on that side, he answered with a strong performance against the Terriers.

Statistically, Knecht totaled a block and two steals. However, his on-ball pressure, communication and rotations were at a higher level than we've seen to this point.

"He came up with some deflections," said Barnes. "That’s what we’ve asked him to do. Contain, contest, deflect. Then, obviously, as time goes on, people are going to work him. Anybody would do that. It’s tough when you know you can score the ball."

The next step in Knecht's defensive development is rebounding. Part of playing sound defense is finishing off the possessions by coming up with a board.

Barnes knows that with the lineups Knecht plays in, he'll need to step it up in this category. He is averaging just 3.7 rebounds per game after grabbing three against Wofford.

“Part of defense is rebounding," said Barnes. "I think he’s averaging around three rebounds per game. He’s got to rebound. He’s got to realize when you’re playing basically with the four perimeter guys out there, he’s got to be a big part of the rebounding solution."

Next, Knecht and Tennessee will face another test against a historically great basketball program. The team is taking part in the Maui Invitational and opening the tournament with a game against Syracuse.

The winner between the Vols and Orange will then face the winner of No. 2 Purdue and No. 11 Gonzaga.

No. 1 Kansas, No. 4 Marquette, UCLA and Chaminade are also in the field.

For Tennessee to reach its potential and possibly take home an in-season tournament championship for the second-straight season, it'll need complete performances from Knecht.

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