2025 NBA Draft: Kon Knueppel is the Perfect Connector Piece

Duke played two exhibition games this preseason and freshman Kon Knueppel shined in these games. What does he do well?

Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

The Duke Blue Devils won both of their exhibition games by a combined 107 points. They look absolutely loaded and are set for an amazing season if they are able to keep this play up. The biggest takeaway is that their team defense is going to be elite, and a lot of the freshmen on their team play so much more maturely than their age.

Cooper Flagg is the obvious star of this team, as he’s the projected top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, but there are other prospects on the team who have first-round pick potential. One player who has really turned some heads in these exhibition games is freshman Kon Knueppel. The 6-foot-7 wing was a five-star recruit out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

There are a lot of conversations happening amongst scouts, with consideration for Knueppel as a top-ten pick in the upcoming draft. He showed the obvious in the exhibition games, looking like an elite sharpshooter who possessed a ton of shot versatility. He was lethal from the outside with a beautiful shooting stroke and great touch.

Knueppel is comfortably one of the top shooters in college basketball and in the draft. Outside of shooting, he brings a lot more to the table which is what makes him so coveted as a prospect. The impressive passing chops caught some people by surprise, as he’s a very good passer for his archetype.

He made some very good passes off the dribble and Knueppel does a great job of taking advantage of his shooting gravity to create open shots for teammates. The vision, passing accuracy and IQ are all in place for him to be a good tertiary playmaker.

The Duke wing is an awesome offensive prospect, but he did some things on the other side of the ball that were pretty enticing. The sharpshooter rebounded and defended with toughness, which was great to see.

It’s always important to see what sharpshooters bring to the table if their jumper isn’t falling and it’s safe to say Knueppel will still have a positive impact even when he isn’t shooting particularly well. He isn’t the most athletically gifted wing, but he certainly makes up for it in other areas. If Knueppel can continue his preseason play and translate it into the regular season then we will likely hear his name called in the top ten on draft night come June.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.