From the Rocky Mountains to Rocky Top. Dalton Knecht has made the most of his new home away from home. It’s not often a player from Northern Colorado hits the transfer portal and some of the top school’s in the nation come calling.

“Right when I hit the portal, I was working out in the gym, didn’t have my phone with me and I had over 500 missed calls and 1,200 texts,” said Knecht

“Did all those calls and texts happen in a day, in a couples days, what was the timeframe,” CBS Colorado asked Dalton

“It was probably between 30 minutes and hour,” exclaimed Knecht

After considering Oregon, North Carolina, Indiana and Kansas, the Thornton, Colorado, native settled on Tennessee.Tennessee v Kentuck

Dalton Knecht of the Tennessee Volunteers dribbles the ball while defended by Rob Dillingham #0 of the Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena on Feb. 3, 2024 in Lexington, Kentucky

ANDY LYONS / GETTY IMAGE

“It just felt special here,” Knecht said. “They have a hall of fame coach who coached my favorite player, Kevin Durant. It just felt special.”

“Is Knoxville, Tennessee, like Broncos Country on steroids?” CBS Colorado asked Dalton

“I’m not much of a Broncos fan,” Knecht said sheepishly. “But that Tennessee orange is special.

Not only has Dalton been Tennessee’s best player, he’s arguably the best player in the SEC and a legitimate candidate for the National Player of the Yea

 

“Are you surprised by the amount of success you’ve had at Tennessee?” CBS Colorado asked Dalton

“Yes and no, I always thought I could do it but seeing it come true is crazy,” said Knech

His 37 points at North Carolina earlier this year ties for the most ever scored by a visiting player in Chapel Hill and he’s the first player in the SEC to have back-to-back 35 point games since 1991. The last player you may know. Shaquille O’Neal

“When you hear those kind of things, how does that resonate with you?” CBS Colorado asked Dalton