Kon Knueppel

[Braggins]

Kon is 6'5" and had a slower lane agility time than Hansen Yang, who is a 7+ footer that people are worried about being too slow to be a drop coverage center in the league, and people are acting like Kon is going to a plus defender guarding NBA guards...

Another reason to join the Yang gang.

Ive been Yang Gang posting in the Charlotte sub ever since I found out about Yang lol.

[Klomp]

I think people are getting sucked into the white shooter stereotype, and it's affecting how they project Knueppel. I see a lot of Khris Middleton in his game, I think that's a really solid comp for him.

[greg4012]

I think people are getting sucked into the white shooter stereotype, and it's affecting how they project Knueppel. I see a lot of Khris Middleton in his game, I think that's a really solid comp for him.

I can see Middleton minus 2 inches in height and minus 5 inches in wingspan. Of course, the result of that isn't Khris Middleton but is a SG-sized player with the slowest feet and movement skills among any starting guard in the NBA.

[Klomp]

I think people are getting sucked into the white shooter stereotype, and it's affecting how they project Knueppel. I see a lot of Khris Middleton in his game, I think that's a really solid comp for him.

I can see Middleton minus 2 inches in height and minus 5 inches in wingspan. Of course, the result of that isn't Khris Middleton but is a SG-sized player with the slowest feet and movement skills among any starting guard in the NBA.

Still better than comps like Dalton Knecht and Luke Kennard...

[greg4012]

I think people are getting sucked into the white shooter stereotype, and it's affecting how they project Knueppel. I see a lot of Khris Middleton in his game, I think that's a really solid comp for him.

I can see Middleton minus 2 inches in height and minus 5 inches in wingspan. Of course, the result of that isn't Khris Middleton but is a SG-sized player with the slowest feet and movement skills among any starting guard in the NBA.

Still better than comps like Dalton Knecht and Luke Kennard...

Idk that Khris Middleton losing half the physical traits that give him advantage is as different from Luke Kennard as you seem to think

[Klomp]

I can see Middleton minus 2 inches in height and minus 5 inches in wingspan. Of course, the result of that isn't Khris Middleton but is a SG-sized player with the slowest feet and movement skills among any starting guard in the NBA.

Still better than comps like Dalton Knecht and Luke Kennard...

Idk that Khris Middleton losing half the physical traits that give him advantage is as different from Luke Kennard as you seem to think

To be fair, I thought Kennard was about 2 inches shorter than he is....so it might not be so far off. But Knueppel has like 25 lbs on him, which is the larger point.

[EvanZ]

Still better than comps like Dalton Knecht and Luke Kennard...

Idk that Khris Middleton losing half the physical traits that give him advantage is as different from Luke Kennard as you seem to think

To be fair, I thought Kennard was about 2 inches shorter than he is....so it might not be so far off. But Knueppel has like 25 lbs on him, which is the larger point.

There are way too many K’s in this post including the author.

[Klomp]

Here's a pretty good one I just heard in an interview with Kon's uncle: Desmond Bane

[MrTribbiani]

The highest I would place him on my mock is at 10 to Houston. It's laughable that Jonathan Givony has him at number 4 (higher than Ace Bailey, a superior prospect despite his flaws). Any team that picks Kon in the top five is smoking crack lol.

[MrTribbiani]

Read on Twitter

He definitely did the same trickery that Reed Sheppard did last year to make his vertical look more impressive than it actually is

[EmpireFalls]

I can see Middleton minus 2 inches in height and minus 5 inches in wingspan. Of course, the result of that isn't Khris Middleton but is a SG-sized player with the slowest feet and movement skills among any starting guard in the NBA.

Still better than comps like Dalton Knecht and Luke Kennard...

Idk that Khris Middleton losing half the physical traits that give him advantage is as different from Luke Kennard as you seem to think

Im from the triangle. Luke Kennard was much, much more dynamic and quicker than Kon. It’s not even close. Kennard is slippery and had an advanced handle for the college game. Kon has zero wiggle and is incredibly slow.

I cannot understate how slow Kon will look next to legit NBA athletes.

[greg4012]

Here's a pretty good one I just heard in an interview with Kon's uncle: Desmond Bane

That's the highest end outcome I see reasonably possible (bc of his positional size limitations). But I have not seen any tape of Kon moving his feet on the perimeter with anything near the quickness that Bane possesses. I also think that Kon's handle is VERY rudimentary.

He exists in a weird space where he spent the college season being marketed as a 6'7 strong wing with shooting so people hyped up his solid handle and playmaking for his size/position and dismissed his slow-footedness and lack of athleticism, but the reality (that was already obvious to me) that he actually did not have NBA wing size and was squarely an average-sized NBA SG with way below average footspeed and athleticism for a SG started slowly setting in with his draft measurements. So, people still want to consider things like his handle and passing a positional strength, when really it's average at best (handle below average IMO) for a guard prospect.

Joe Ingles minus 5+ inches in length is no longer Joe Ingles. But that is Kon.

[EvanZ]

It's too bad David Kahn is gone.

[CPops57]

Nobody is pulling up Dylan Harper numbers to show he scored more points per 100 possession with Bailey on the bench right? You know why? Because Harper was awesome scoring all the time and there is no need to try to oversell it. He is just good at scoring.

Late response to your comment, but I thought this merited a reply.

The reason for Kon being alone in garnering this type of scrutiny and back and forth seems fairly obvious: there is only one true superstar talent in college basketball in 2025 and Kon Kneuppel was on the same team as him so he spent less time than other top tier draft prospects as the #1 offensive option to prove his abilities.

Unlike say Dylan Harper or Tre Johnson, Kon Kneuppel was on a team with a generational draft prospect who clearly deserved being the primary offensive option whenever he was on the court. Unlike other top-level prospects, Kneuppel spent less time being the #1 offensive option on his team: only for a few games in the ACC tournament when Flagg was hurt, or a few minutes here and there when Flagg was on the bench.

This is why people are asking questions and diving deeper into Kon's stats. Personally, I think he did really well in the limited sample size of him having to be a #1 option. But it is fair to point out that it is a limited sample size so it will bring up questions and analysis that other top level draft prospects aren't facing.

[greg4012]

Nobody is pulling up Dylan Harper numbers to show he scored more points per 100 possession with Bailey on the bench right? You know why? Because Harper was awesome scoring all the time and there is no need to try to oversell it. He is just good at scoring.

Late response to your comment, but I thought this merited a reply.

The reason for Kon being alone in garnering this type of scrutiny and back and forth seems fairly obvious: there is only one true superstar talent in college basketball in 2025 and Kon Kneuppel was on the same team as him so he spent less time than other top tier draft prospects as the #1 offensive option to prove his abilities.

Unlike say Dylan Harper or Tre Johnson, Kon Kneuppel was on a team with a generational draft prospect who clearly deserved being the primary offensive option whenever he was on the court. Unlike other top-level prospects, Kneuppel spent less time being the #1 offensive option on his team: only for a few games in the ACC tournament when Flagg was hurt, or a few minutes here and there when Flagg was on the bench.

This is why people are asking questions and diving deeper into Kon's stats. Personally, I think he did really well in the limited sample size of him having to be a #1 option. But it is fair to point out that it is a limited sample size so it will bring up questions and analysis that other top level draft prospects aren't facing.

Kon's ACC tourney stretch without Flagg is one of the most overrated narratives about him. He played excellent in the game where Flagg got injured (note: Flagg still played 15 minutes in that game). In the next 2 games, Kon ended up with more turnovers than assists and basically kept his same rate of scoring per minute.

[2weekswithpay]

Nobody is pulling up Dylan Harper numbers to show he scored more points per 100 possession with Bailey on the bench right? You know why? Because Harper was awesome scoring all the time and there is no need to try to oversell it. He is just good at scoring.

Late response to your comment, but I thought this merited a reply.

The reason for Kon being alone in garnering this type of scrutiny and back and forth seems fairly obvious: there is only one true superstar talent in college basketball in 2025 and Kon Kneuppel was on the same team as him so he spent less time than other top tier draft prospects as the #1 offensive option to prove his abilities.

Unlike say Dylan Harper or Tre Johnson, Kon Kneuppel was on a team with a generational draft prospect who clearly deserved being the primary offensive option whenever he was on the court. Unlike other top-level prospects, Kneuppel spent less time being the #1 offensive option on his team: only for a few games in the ACC tournament when Flagg was hurt, or a few minutes here and there when Flagg was on the bench.

This is why people are asking questions and diving deeper into Kon's stats. Personally, I think he did really well in the limited sample size of him having to be a #1 option. But it is fair to point out that it is a limited sample size so it will bring up questions and analysis that other top level draft prospects aren't facing.

Kon's ACC tourney stretch without Flagg is one of the most overrated narratives about him. He played excellent in the game where Flagg got injured (note: Flagg still played 15 minutes in that game). In the next 2 games, Kon ended up with more turnovers than assists and basically kept his same rate of scoring per minute.

If you expand the sample size to the entire college season, Kon's numbers when he played without Flagg are still great.

[greg4012]

Late response to your comment, but I thought this merited a reply.

The reason for Kon being alone in garnering this type of scrutiny and back and forth seems fairly obvious: there is only one true superstar talent in college basketball in 2025 and Kon Kneuppel was on the same team as him so he spent less time than other top tier draft prospects as the #1 offensive option to prove his abilities.

Unlike say Dylan Harper or Tre Johnson, Kon Kneuppel was on a team with a generational draft prospect who clearly deserved being the primary offensive option whenever he was on the court. Unlike other top-level prospects, Kneuppel spent less time being the #1 offensive option on his team: only for a few games in the ACC tournament when Flagg was hurt, or a few minutes here and there when Flagg was on the bench.

This is why people are asking questions and diving deeper into Kon's stats. Personally, I think he did really well in the limited sample size of him having to be a #1 option. But it is fair to point out that it is a limited sample size so it will bring up questions and analysis that other top level draft prospects aren't facing.

Kon's ACC tourney stretch without Flagg is one of the most overrated narratives about him. He played excellent in the game where Flagg got injured (note: Flagg still played 15 minutes in that game). In the next 2 games, Kon ended up with more turnovers than assists and basically kept his same rate of scoring per minute.

If you expand the sample size to the entire college season, Kon's numbers when he played without Flagg are still great.

But that was all just minutes during a game when Flagg was active and playing--hence no real game planning with Kon as focal point. Totally different thing. Akin to 6th man getting put in starting lineup and seeing his efficiency and impact diminish when facing starters.

[2weekswithpay]

Kon's ACC tourney stretch without Flagg is one of the most overrated narratives about him. He played excellent in the game where Flagg got injured (note: Flagg still played 15 minutes in that game). In the next 2 games, Kon ended up with more turnovers than assists and basically kept his same rate of scoring per minute.

If you expand the sample size to the entire college season, Kon's numbers when he played without Flagg are still great.

But that was all just minutes during a game when Flagg was active and playing--hence no real game planning with Kon as focal point. Totally different thing. Akin to 6th man getting put in starting lineup and seeing his efficiency and impact diminish when facing starters.

Flagg isn't going to play every single minute, and college teams have more than enough resources at their disposal to prepare for lineups that don't involve him. Kon doesn't morph into an entirely different player either.

Kon should be the 2nd player on the scouting report after Flagg, he was the 2nd scoring option after all. This isn't anything like a 6th man being pushed into a bigger role. You should already be prepared to play against Kon, and he shouldn't be surprising you.

[CPops57]

Kon's ACC tourney stretch without Flagg is one of the most overrated narratives about him. He played excellent in the game where Flagg got injured (note: Flagg still played 15 minutes in that game). In the next 2 games, Kon ended up with more turnovers than assists and basically kept his same rate of scoring per minute.

You do realize that Duke relied heavily on Flagg as an initiator and didn't really have great point guard play otherwise?

You really have to reach for a negative spin of a guy being the leading scorer and passer with his team's best player missing, still maintaining pretty efficient play, and being able to win the conference tournament.

[greg4012]

Kon's ACC tourney stretch without Flagg is one of the most overrated narratives about him. He played excellent in the game where Flagg got injured (note: Flagg still played 15 minutes in that game). In the next 2 games, Kon ended up with more turnovers than assists and basically kept his same rate of scoring per minute.

You do realize that Duke relied heavily on Flagg as an initiator and didn't really have great point guard play otherwise?

You really have to reach for a negative spin of a guy being the leading scorer and passer with his team's best player missing, still maintaining pretty efficient play, and being able to win the conference tournament.

Not hard to reach for more turnovers than assists to not be a great indicator for an expanded onball role in nba when paired with league worst positional athleticism and bad pull up 3 pt shooting. But OK