Kon Knueppel: I’m always going to keep shooting

Sunday night, the majority of the college basketball landscape was talking about Kon Knueppel. In a charity exhibition game, Arizona State traveled to Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on the Duke Blue Devils. This marked Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley’s return to Durham. Not only was Mike Krzyzewski in the building to welcome Hurley back, but so was back-to-back national championship teammate Grant Hill. In the end, Duke won the game running away, 103-47.

Within that, however, was a bit of electricity. In the second half, Knueppel played only six minutes. Within that six minutes, he scored 15 points, going 4-5 from three (5-6 from the field) including an and-1 three where he also sunk the free-throw. It was truly a coming-out type of moment for the freshman, one that got the Cameron Crazies loud and filled with excitement.

“This type of performance, from him, it’s definitely not a surprise,” junior forward Maliq Brown, a transfer from Syracuse, told On3. “His workouts and his practices are competitive and it’s the same, over and over. I mean, this type of performance is not new to us.”

Speaking with the players after the game, this type of performance has been something they have come to expect from Knueppel. Senior wing/forward Sion James, who transferred this summer to Duke from Tulane, echoed similar thoughts to Brown.

“Kon is an unbelievably talented player,” James told On3. “I could have told you that two months ago, but now the world is starting to see that.”

Looking through Duke’s recruiting class, Knueppel was On3’s No. 18 overall player in the class. He was Duke’s third-highest commitment in the 2024 On3 150, ranked behind teammates Cooper Flagg (No. 1) and Khaman Maluach (No. 9). And while he was a top 20 recruit, he was still somewhat under the radar. Knueppel was not voted to be a McDonald’s All-American.

However, Knueppel was not an unknown commodity. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard first entered On3’s top 25 (at No. 23) in the October 2022 update. He remained there, while continuing to climb, until On3’s final high school class of 2024 ranking update in May of 2024.

“I think he belongs at Duke,” – Jon Scheyer

While the industry had not caught up yet with Knueppel, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer certainly had seen enough.

“I watched film of him, and then I saw him in person for the first time at NBA Camp,” Scheyer told On3. “It took me about ten minutes, and I said, ‘I think he belongs at Duke.”

Even prior to Knueppel’s offensive explosion against Arizona State, Scheyer says that the freshman had already caught the eye of the staff, not only with his ability on the floor but the mentality he brought to the court.

“The thing that has impressed me the most is not only his feel, but his toughness,” Scheyer said. “That is what has jumped off the page as a staff, watching him and coaching him every single day, he’s tough, he has feel, and, of course, his skill set is very high level.”

“The shot is always going to be there,” Kon Knueppel

Kon Knueppel earned the start in this game. Going into the Arizona State exhibition, this would be Knueppel’s first taste of high-major basketball. He came out a little flat in the first half, going 1-5 from the field and 0-3 from three in his first 14:34 played.

“The shot is always going to be there,” Knueppel told On3. “So, I tried to be a little more aggressive looking for it in the second half.”

The shot certainly was there. After a 15-point, 4-5 from three second half, Knueppel finished with a game-high 19 points. In only six second-half minutes played, things got going for the freshman.

“Coach Scheyer told me to keep shooting, and I’m always going to keep shooting,” Knueppel said. “I’m not going to let missed shots affect my game, so it felt good to see a couple fall there and it was all downhill from there.”

Even while the shot was not falling in the first half, Knueppel was still affecting the game. By halftime, he already had accumulated five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

“Kon is someone who keeps it simple,” Sion James told On3. “He stays the course, and we saw all of that today. He started the game, doing all the little things for us, getting rebounds. And then the shots started to fall. Kon is an unbelievably talented player.”

Entering the start of the college basketball season, only about six months after graduating from Wisconsin (WI) Lutheran, Knueppel has worked his way from not being voted to the McDonald’s All-American game to being listed in the lottery of multiple NBA Mock Drafts.

Duke starts their regular season play on November 4 at 7:00 PM EST with a home matchup against Maine.

Superb shot-making display from projected top-10 pick Kon Knueppel in Duke's blowout win over Arizona State. 19 points in 21 minutes, plus some strong moments defensively, getting on the glass and showing his physicality, motor and playmaking chops. pic.twitter.com/uhFMwLYw1X

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) October 28, 2024