"It was for sure a real cool moment" - Tennessee's Dalton Knecht reflects on taking home SEC Player of the Year honors

The race for the Player of the Year race in the SEC is over. After a phenomenal campaign for the Tennessee Volunteers, Dalton Knecht earned the top prize in the Southeastern Conference on Monday.

In a media availability session afterward, Knecht opened up about his feelings on the honor and how he found out about it:

"Mary-Carter [Tennessee's Director of Basketball Operations] told me when I was in the training room. And then Jonas [Aidoo, team center] told me as well. Both of them came in at the same time."

For him, though, the honor is something he's dreamed about and worked hard for. However, it speaks to his character as a teammate and leader as he was willing to forego the credit to his teammates more than his work:

"It was, for sure, a real cool moment. Like, you know, a crazy award. It was a lot of hard work. Big shoutout to my teammates and coaching staff...I always wanted to be Player of the Year. It'd be real cool. But, also, I knew it was a lot of hard work."

With a position in the All-American and in contention for the National Player of the Year, Dalton Knecht could find himself on the receiving end of multiple other awards as well.

However, the SEC Player of the Year was double special for him, after leading the team to the No. 1 seed. During his transfer from Northern Colorado to Tennessee, this award was firmly on his radar.

Dalton Knecht's numbers on the year

Dalton Knecht was one of the key reasons for the Tennessee Volunteers finishing the year with the No. 1 seed, becoming the 10th player in program history to win the award.

On the year, his averages of 21.4 points on 47.4% from the field and 40.5% from deep while adding 4.8 rebounds. Specifically against the rest of the SEC, he was even better, upping his scoring average to 25.5, while improving his efficiency to 48.1% as well.

Dalton Knecht of the Tennessee Volunteers

His production led the way for a 24-7 campaign for the Volunteers that has them firmly in contention for the NCAA Tournament. Their SEC Tournament opens with a game against neighboring Nashville, where they're hoping to acquire the No. 1 seed for March Madness.

With a brilliant regular season behind him, do you think Dalton Knecht can lead Tennessee deep in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments? Let us know in the comments below.