Dalton Knecht kept it simple.
The Tennessee basketball guard had a defender in front of him. The other eight players were on the opposite half of the court due to his teammates freeing up space. The decision was easy.
Knecht used a crossover and hesitant dribble to get past Auburn’s Johnny Broome and into the open lane. He dunked, took swings at the rim and gave a little fist pump as he came back smiling in the midst of his latest and best performance of the season at Tennessee.
“What he did in the last 12 minutes was one of the greatest performances I’ve seen,” Vols coach Rick Barnes said.
That special play within Knecht’s unforgettable 12-minute surge was born out of a slight but brilliant shift in the Vols’ offense – and Tennessee used it again and again. It helped put Auburn on top 92-84, igniting Knecht’s 25 points in 12 minutes, his season-best 39 points at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
How Rick Barnes transformed Tennessee’s offense and exposed Dalton Knecht
With less than seven minutes to play against No. 11 Auburn (21-7, 10-5) on Wednesday, Knecht got to the corner of No. 4 Tennessee (22-6, 12-3 SEC) and scored by two points. Took a lead of.
He waited until Tobe Awka and Josiah-Jordan James arrived to join him.
Barnes made one change during the under-8 media timeout and it was this move that was implemented. He changed Tennessee’s main set of attacks to have three players in low positions near the baseline and two players in high positions outside the 3-point line. This usually gives Knecht – or anyone – the opportunity to start in the middle under the hoop and use a screen in any direction.
“Instead of giving him a chance to come in from either side, we took him to one side and told both guys to go and open him up,” Barnes said. “We really gave him two-thirds of the court to try to get open and get the ball. He has done. Then it’s up to him to make the moves and shots that he thinks he has.”
Knecht did this again and again. He ran down the baseline on the first play, using a screen from Awaka to switch to Broome. He completely dismantled another Avaka screen. He hit a 3-pointer over Broome.
Next time he used it differently, split screen and came back to Broom. He went near him to sting.
“It gave me a lot of space to be isolated,” Knecht said. “Just to give me the full favor, if I want a screen I have to call for a screen. it worked.”
The Vols used the set eight times in 10 possessions in the final eight minutes. Knecht started five times on the left and three times on the right. He was 3-for-4 shooting from adjusted sets with seven points. UT scored a total of 13 points on possessions, holding off the Tigers.
Guard Zakai Ziegler said, “If guys want to stick to shooters, this will give them a lot more room to work and get a basket whenever they feel like it.” “It will work regardless.”
Dalton Knecht had his best performance ever for Tennessee basketball
Knecht walked to the scorer’s table with a towel slung over his shoulders, looking like a prizefighter rejoining the ring. Barnes called a timeout to get Knecht back in the game with 2:45 left after giving Knecht a breather.
The senior touched the ball on 17 of Tennessee’s final 18 possessions in halfcourt. He scored on 11 of them. He made nine field goals and took 11 shots in those 18 possessions.
“There aren’t a lot of people that can do it like he did,” Barnes said.
Tennessee turned to Knecht when it trailed by eight early in the second half. He scored twice against Auburn’s zone defense, hitting a 3-pointer and then using a baseline cut for a dunk.
He felt good in the first half after back-to-back shots. He was shut down in the second half, struggling to produce a ridiculous clip through Auburn players pulling his jersey, triple-teams and more.
Knecht had 27 points in the second half, surpassing his previous notable outings at North Carolina, Mississippi State and Georgia. Wednesday was his sixth 20-point half and his best half to date. It was his sixth 30-point game and his fifth in SEC play, putting him in the conversation for SEC Player of the Year honors, All-American honors, and national player of the year.
“In the end, we were just maintaining distance and trying to give him room for the operation,” Barnes said.
It was that easy.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @by mikewilson, If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will give you access to it all.
