Duke Basketball: Draft Guru Predicts Second-Best Rookie in Durham

Duke basketball freshman Kon Knueppel's advanced scoring abilities and overall hoops acumen may outweigh any concerns about his game.

Duke basketball / Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

Some would argue Kon Knueppel's name too often gets lost in conversations about the 2024-25 Duke basketball team's ingredients for greatness. It appears draft expert Sam Vecenie of The Athletic is among those looking beyond the five-star wing's athletic limitations to see a remarkably polished perimeter threat and yet another potential one-and-done Blue Devil talent.

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On Sunday morning, reacting to recently posted Duke basketball intrasquad scrimmage highlights on social media, Vecenie chimed in with the following promise regarding his 2025 mock draft — slated for the day after this week's 2024 NBA Draft concludes — and the 6-foot-7, 217-pound Knueppel's deserved place on it:

"Yes I obviously have to do a 2025 mock the day after the draft. Knueppel will be on it. I get the athleticism. I don’t care. Think he’s just an absolute stud and will be Duke’s second-best freshman this year."

Kon Knueppel 5v5 Highlights 1st Scrimmage 😈 pic.twitter.com/Dj6fogWKIV

— DukeLights 𝕏 (@DukeLightsX) June 22, 2024

Most college hoops analysts refer to five-star center Khaman Maluach, a 7-foot-2, 250-pound punisher and projected 2025 lottery pick from South Sudan, as the Blue Devils' No. 2 rookie.

Of course, the consensus top draft prospect in Durham this year is five-star freshman forward and premier 2024 recruiting prize Cooper Flagg, a potentially generational phenom sitting No. 1 on the bulk of early 2025 draft big boards.

That said, no one should be discounting Knueppel or the other three members of Duke's top-ranked 2024 haul who arrived alongside Flagg and Maluach. All six of the Blue Devils' newcomers via the recruiting trail finished inside the top 40 on the 247Sports 2024 Composite, and each boasts at least one specialty capable of demanding a spot in the squad's primary rotation.

Aiding Vecenie's lofty assessment of Kon Knueppel specifically, consider that the Duke basketball program has updated the 18-year-old's height and weight on the official roster. He's now one inch taller and 12 pounds heavier than last week's initial posted measurements of 6-6, 205.

BREAKING: According to the latest Duke basketball roster update, Kon Knueppel has already grown an inch and packed on 12 pounds since arriving on campus last week. pic.twitter.com/DPsbX1BOFD

— Matt Giles (@MattGilesBD) June 23, 2024

RELATED: Footage From First 2024-25 Blue Devil Intrasquad Scrimmage