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SEC names Players of the Week after they averaged 32 points, produced first double-double
By Keith Farner
Published:
Dalton Knecht and DJ Wagner produced impressive performances last week, and the SEC honored the Tennessee and Kentucky players on Monday with a Player of the Week honor.
Knecht averaged 32.0 points, six rebounds, and 1.5 assists in wins over Florida and Alabama. He shot 21-of-43 (48.8%) overall, including 5-of-12 (41.7%) from 3-point range, and he also went 17-for-17 from the foul line.
Knecht also notched a career-high 39 points against Florida and that made him the first SEC player since Shaquille O’Neal in 1991 to have back-to-back 35-point outings. Knecht’s 25-point showing against Alabama made him the 5th SEC player in the last 14 seasons to score 25-plus points in 4 straight games.
This is a familiar place for Knecht. No other individual has claimed even 2 SEC Player of the Week distinctions this season, but Knecht is already the first person from any school to earn 3 in a season since Auburn’s Walker Kessler in 2021-22.
Knecht also received an honor from the Naismith Trophy Player of the Week by the Atlanta Tipoff Club/Naismith Awards. He is the first Volunteer to claim the honor since Grant Williams on Jan. 28, 2019.
Wagner averaged 12.5 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds and a steal in wins over Mississippi State and Georgia. He earned his first career double-double with 18 points and 10 assists in the win over Georgia. The 10 assists marked a career high, which topped his previous high of 7.
Walker’s honor is the 100th SEC Freshman of the Week honor for the Wildcats during the John Calipari era, according to UK.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
