Mark Pope recruit full commitment in Four Duke Rookies Forecasted as 2025 First-Rounders..
Mark Pope recruit full commitment in Four Duke Rookies Forecasted as 2025 First-Rounders
Four Duke Basketball Rookies Forecasted as 2025 First-Rounders
Hype continues to build regarding Duke basketball wing Kon Knueppel, not to mention other newcomers in Durham.
Matt Giles | 2 Hours Ago
Duke basketball wing Kon Knueppel
Duke basketball wing Kon Knueppel / Scott Ash / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The official 2024-25 Duke basketball roster lists Kon Knueppel as a 6-foot-7, 217-pound freshman, significantly bigger than he appeared on recruiting sites. And judging by Knueppel’s exceedingly impressive shooting feats in summer workouts, the five-star guard/forward from Wisconsin has a chance to match or even outdo the 3-point prowess of 2023-24 Blue Devil one-and-done Jared McCain.
So, perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Kon Knueppel is now popping up in the first round of several early 2025 mock drafts.
Sure, it seems most folks don’t expect the 19-year-old pure scorer to land a starting role on Jon Scheyer’s third Duke basketball squad. Moreover, the “one-and-done” tag was absent from most outlooks on Knueppel before he arrived on campus this summer.
Even so, the latest Bleacher Report mock draft, courtesy of well-established draft expert Jonathan Wasserman this week, has Knueppel coming off the board at No. 12 overall next summer.
Wasserman offered the following explanation for such a lofty projection:
“Any preconceived concerns about Kon Knueppel’s athleticism should fade once he shows off his scoring instincts and shooting…His 22.5 points per game led the EYBL last year, and his physical build and shotmaking hint at translatability. Even if he comes off the bench after Duke added transfers Maliq Brown, Mason Gillis and Sion James, Knueppel’s skill level, IQ and efficiency should pop similar to how Reed Sheppard did in a reserve role at Kentucky.”
Of course, as is the case on most other mock drafts, Wasserman pegs Duke basketball freshman forward Cooper Flagg to hear his name No. 1 overall. Plus, his first-round-only forecast includes two more of the Blue Devils’ six heralded rookies in five-star center Khaman Maluach at No. 18 and five-star guard/forward Isaiah Evans at No. 25 overall.
Flagg, Knueppel, Maluach, and Evans are the only Blue Devils in Wasserman’s mock draft.
