A lot of the 2025 NBA Draft dialogue surrounds the Duke Blue Devils, because it tends to do. Cooper Flagg seems like a digital lock to land at primary, turning eyes in direction of him every time he steps on the court docket. We shouldn’t overlook Duke’s different proficient prospects, notably freshman wing Kon Knueppel.
Knueppel’s high-end passing
On a Duke group with out high-end guard expertise, Knueppel has taken on heavy decide and roll playmaking duties. They’ve thrust him into the fireplace early and Knueppel’s passing has been glorious to start the yr. His assist-to-turnover ratio is an absurd 2.9, underscoring his glorious decision-making chops.
As considered one of Duke’s main passers, defenses usually ship stress at Knueppel. His means to keep up his deal with and keep away from turnovers in opposition to traps, hedges and blitzes offers fairly a little bit of optimism for his future as an on-ball passer. He’s turned the ball over on a paltry 9.8% of his possessions, continuously making fast selections to beat ball stress.
i nonetheless really feel fairly stable about kon knueppel, he’s nonetheless a excessive really feel stay dribble playmaker with motion taking pictures and sufficient burst. can nonetheless be a extremely good offensive participant
athletic indicators are def considerably regarding however he’s nonetheless an awesome offensive prospect pic.twitter.com/w6A2QMA4mD
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) January 9, 2025
Knueppel’s pairing with Flagg and particularly freshman massive Khaman Maluach offers him luxuries most faculty wings don’t have. It’s uncommon for school handlers to share the court docket with roll threats as potent as Maluach, who dunks nearly every part. Knueppel’s accuracy, timing and manipulation of tempo on these lob passes are pristine.
In accordance with Synergy, Knueppel spends 37.9% of his possessions because the pick-and-roll handler (together with passes) at 1.067 factors per possession, putting him within the eighty fifth percentile amongst all faculty gamers. In his ultimate AAU season, Knueppel’s decide and roll handler frequency was a lowly 17.4%.
Knueppel’s scoring upside
Stay dribble scoring will act as a swing ability for Knueppel. Can he counterbalance his glorious passing together with his personal downhill scoring menace? Knueppel’s half-court rim frequency (28.6%) is pretty stable given his succesful first step and luxury altering speeds. He’s a clearly restricted vertical athlete, although, and it’s straightforward to think about him struggling to complete in opposition to NBA-caliber athletes. His low 19.3% free-throw charge isn’t a optimistic indicator for athletic translation, both.
checklist of 6’6+ gamers drafted with seasons of a free throw charge under 20. notable this yr for kon knueppel, koby brea, milan momcilovic, jacob kofie amongst others pic.twitter.com/3SPaPj56T6
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) January 9, 2025
Almost all the wings with out excessive foul drawing who succeed within the NBA accomplish that on the again of their taking pictures. Desmond Bane is closest to an NBA star and there are fairly a number of robust position gamers on the checklist.
At simply 35.9%, Knueppel’s 3-point taking pictures projection may not look elite on the floor. Diving deeper into his taking pictures indicators reveals an elite taking pictures prospect. He’s an extremely high-volume shooter (12.7 threes per 100 possessions) who shoots 93.1% from the road. His monitor file of elite taking pictures extends again to highschool, the place he was a particular scorer every AAU season.
Knueppel’s off-ball taking pictures versatility bodes nicely for his taking pictures projection and his position flexibility on the NBA degree. He’s succesful firing from all forms of platforms, backing up on flare screens and twisting each instructions off of pins. This taking pictures versatility is traditionally a superb indicator of shotmaking translation.
kon knueppel’s quietly having an elite taking pictures season — 12.7 3pa/100, 61.3 3par, 93.1% ft. troublesome motion taking pictures versatility
he needs to be an especially position versatile professional pic.twitter.com/PpDv47DN34
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) January 9, 2025
Knueppel’s long-term outlook
At his ceiling Knueppel’s playmaking really feel and scoring craft might lend to an on-ball position on the NBA degree. Even with out top-end athleticism, his ability, contact and passing may assist him near-star offensive influence. With out the ball, Knueppel will thrive as a motion shooter and secondary playmaker. Most NBA groups received’t have bother becoming him into their offensive scheme.
Those self same athletic limitations will restrict Knueppel on protection. He doesn’t generate any turnovers (0.5% block charge, 1.4% steal charge) and might wrestle on ball, particularly in opposition to faster guards. Knueppel will depend on his sound positioning and recognition to tread water on the defensive finish.
Kon Knueppel might not boast as excessive a ceiling as many prospects on this class. Even with out elite athletic instruments, although, his different optimistic traits might lend to an unorthodox star path. For my cash, he’s nonetheless enjoying like a late lottery decide as Duke enters convention play.
