The Associated Press released its postseason All-SEC teams and honors on Tuesday morning and Tennessee basketball was well represented.
A panel of 14 voters unanimously voted the Vols’ Dalton Knecht as the SEC Player of the Year after the Northern Colorado transfer averaged 25.5 points and 5.2 rebounds in 18 conference games. Knecht was a scoring machine in conference play, totaling 40 points once, 35-plus points four times, 30-plus points six times and 25-plus points 10 times.
Knecht and junior power forward Jonas Aidoo each landed on the first team while junior point guard Zakai Zeigler landed on the second team. Unsurprisingly, Knecht also won Newcomer of the Year honors.
While the coaches All-SEC teams include eight players on each team, the AP’s All-SEC teams include just five players on each team. However, Aidoo tied with Mississippi State’s Tolu Smith for the final spot on the first team meaning there are six players on the first team and five players on the second team.
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Aidoo was the breakout star of Tennessee’s team. After playing sparingly as a freshman and serving as a rotational role player as a sophomore, Aidoo broke out as a strong player on both ends of the court while playing 25.3 minutes per game for the Vols this season.
The 6-foot-11 forward averaged 12.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game over the course of the full season. In 18 SEC games, Aidoo averaged 13.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. Aidoo also was one of five players voted onto the All-SEC Defensive Team by the league’s coaches.
Just over a year after tearing his ACL, junior point guard Zakai Zeigler was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. After struggling early in the season while trying to get back into form, Zeigler was fantastic in conference play where he averaged 14.1 points, seven assists, 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.
With Knecht, Aidoo and Zeigler leading the way, Tennessee basketball won its first outright SEC Regular Season Championship since 2008. The Vols will look to defend their regular season title at the SEC Tournament this week in Nashville.
