He’s been lost in the shuffle of [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] Summer, but five-star Duke basketball freshman [autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag] received another vote of confidence on Tuesday.
During an appearance on The Brotherhood Podcast, Flagg said Knueppel impressed him the most through Duke’s first practices together as a team.
“I knew he was tough, I knew he had the skill,” Flagg said. “He’s very consistent with what he does every day, his ability to just knock down shots, get into the paint. He’s way more athletic than I expected, to be honest.”
Knueppel, Wisconsin’s Mr. Basketball and one of the top 20 players in the Class of 2024, has already received plenty of hype through the offseason. The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie said he thinks Knueppel might be the second-best freshman on the roster, even beyond South Sudanese Olympian Khaman Maluach.
Knueppel frequently ends up in the lottery range of 2025 NBA mock drafts as he’s become a popular pick for a breakout 2024-25 star.
Flagg also highlighted Syracuse transfer Maliq Brown, who led the ACC in effective field goal percentage last season, as someone growing into Duke’s offense well.