Kon Knueppel’s media availability at NBA draft combine.
Kon Knueppel II had his media availability at the NBA combine in Chicago.
Kon Knueppel II, former Wisconsin Mr. Basketball, was drafted 4th overall by the Charlotte Hornets.This makes Knueppel the highest-drafted Wisconsin native in the modern NBA era.The Duke standout nearly achieved a 50-40-90 shooting season and averaged 14.4 points per game.
Just over a year ago, Kon Knueppel II was leading Wisconsin Lutheran High School to the WIAA Division 2 state championship and being named the state’s Mr. Basketball.
Now he’s in the NBA.
The 6-foot-7 wing was selected by Charlotte Hornets with the No. 4 pick in the NBA draft on June 25.
Knueppel is the highest-ever pick for a Wisconsin native in the modern era. Former UW star Devin Harris went fifth in 2004. La Crosse’s Glen Selbo, who played at UW, was the second pick in the 1947 draft of the BAA, a precursor to the NBA.
Kon Knueppel became lottery pick alongside No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg at Duke
Knueppel solidified himself as a lottery pick during his one season at Duke.
The Blue Devils were loaded with talent, including No. 1 pick in Cooper Flagg, and the team reached the Final Four.
Knueppel’s versatile skills allow him to fit around any type of player, which should help him in the NBA. What stood out most in college was his shooting. He nearly reached a vaunted 50-40-90 season at 47.9% overall, 40.6% on three-pointers and 91.4% from the free-throw line.
But Knueppel also had playmaking chops (2.7 assists per game) in ball-screens with 7-foot-1 center Khaman Maluach, another lottery prospect. He finished with a scoring average of 14.4 points per game.
Knueppel comes from a basketball family
Most basketball fans around Milwaukee know the origin story of Knueppel.
His parents were tremendous players at colleges in the state. His mother, Chari Nordgaard Knueppel, is the all-time leading scorer at UW-Green Bay and his father, Kon, scored more than 2,000 points at Wisconsin Lutheran College.
His uncle Jeff Nordgaard played at UW-Green Bay and appeared in 13 games for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Knueppel’s game was forged at his parents’ Closed Gyms league as a teenager against former local college players. He steadily built himself into a coveted recruit who chose Duke over state schools UW and Marquette.
Knueppel has four younger brothers who are also up-and-coming prospects in the Wisconsin Lutheran pipeline.