No. 22 recruit Kon Knueppel commits to Duke basketball

ByJeff Borzello ESPN logo
Friday, September 22, 2023

Senior Kon Knueppel announced his commitment to the Duke basketball team Thursday, giving the Blue Devils their third top-50 commitment in the 2024 class.

Knueppel had just finished a string of visits, including to Alabama two weekends ago, followed by trips to Wisconsin, Virginia and Duke in quick succession. He also had been to Marquette.

Knueppel boosted his stock considerably over the spring and summer, skyrocketing from outside the ESPN 100 to inside the top 25. He was the leading scorer on the Nike EYBL circuit, averaging 22.5 points in 13 games with the Phenom University grassroots program. He had four games of 30 or more points, including a 37-point effort against JL3 Elite -- a game in which he also grabbed eight rebounds and made six 3-pointers.

Knueppel wasn't just a scorer, averaging 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in addition to shooting 46.7% from 3-point range on more than eight attempts per game.

A 6-foot-5 shooting guard out of Lutheran High School (Wisconsin), Knueppel is ranked No. 22 overall in the ESPN 100 and slots in as the No. 5 shooting guard in the class.

Knueppel is Duke's third commitment in 2024, joining Isaiah Evans (No. 8) and Darren Harris (No. 45). The Blue Devils are the only men's basketball program in the country with three top-50 pledges at this point in the recruiting cycle. Their top remaining target is No. 1 overall prospect Cooper Flagg, who begins his first official visit to UConn on Friday. Flagg is expected to visit Duke in October.