Already sounding like a proud parent, Jon Scheyer’s voice perked up even more.
In this modern age of technology, complete with instantaneous ways to locate talent anywhere in the world, the Duke men’s basketball coach didn’t mine social media endlessly or scour websites in recruiting the player the Charlotte Hornets selected fourth overall in the NBA Draft in June.
Instead, Kon Knueppel’s path to Durham came via the old-fashioned way.
“Kon grew up only about an hour away from me north — I’m from the North Side of Chicago,” Scheyer told The Charlotte Observer. “One of my dad’s friends reached out and said, ‘Hey, oh, no, this kid’s pretty good.’ And so you’re getting recruiting advice from your dad. You take it with a little bit of a grain of salt, even though I trust I know what he’s doing. And the more I just kept hearing about his name …
“The difference-maker there was, I saw him at NBA camp. You don’t have a lot of structure because you don’t have a lot of time. You only have about five days. And the NBA camp does a great job, but you really have to stand on your own two feet. And Kon just really impressed me. The way that he could guard, natural ability to score, but also pass and make the right play. And I was sold on him. Did everything we could to try to get him here.”
Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel at the team’s Sept. 29, 2025, media day at Queens University. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
Scheyer’s conviction in Knueppel never wavered. Even when everyone knew eventual No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg was bound for Duke and understood just how loaded the Blue Devils would be.
External whispers were ignored, leaving Scheyer thrilled in landing the late-bloomer from Milwaukee’s Wisconsin Lutheran High School.
“He didn’t get deterred by scare tactics in terms of who else we could have on the roster,” Scheyer said of Knueppel. “We knew we would have good players on the roster. He just believed in himself and believed in the vision that we had. And, man, thankfully he chose Duke.”
That decision propelled Knueppel to heights he still can’t fathom, making his NBA debut in Wednesday’s regular-season opener against the Brooklyn Nets.
It’s almost equal parts enthusiasm and anxiousness. After all, he was in high school at this point just two years ago and now he’s a professional basketball player, viewed by the Hornets as an important piece of their young core.
Pinch Knueppel. He probably won’t even feel it.
“Yeah, it’s unreal,” Knueppel said, “honestly, a position that sometimes you don’t think is ever going to happen. And to have it happen so fast is ultimately just a blessing from God. So, I think taking that into account — that it’s a blessing — I think it allows you to enjoy it a little bit more and go out there and have more fun with it.”
Even as emotions are flowing.
“I think you’ve got to be excited playing your first NBA season,” Knueppel said. “I think that’s ultimately how you got to feel first and foremost. It’s a little bit nerve-wracking, too, getting out there for the first time. You don’t want to let your teammates down, coaches down and the team.
“So, just making sure I’m all the way prepared.”
Never bedeviled at Duke
In essence, trying to repeat a snippet of what transpired at Duke.
There’s a part of Knueppel that still can’t wrap his head around how it all came together so quickly, springboarding him into the upper echelon of the 2025 draft class. He remembers his initial trip to The Triangle, which happened to be his final trek on the recruiting trail, and walking onto campus, eyeing famed Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“I visited and I’m like, ‘smaller school,’” Knueppel said. “The big schools were kind of intimidating to me a little bit. Big public universities. So, I visited there. I’m like, ‘Yeah, I think I’m going to go here pretty much.’
“And, pretty good choice. Worked out well.”
That’s for sure.
Under Scheyer and alongside Flagg, as well as now-Hornets rookie teammate Sion James, Knueppel garnered more than his share of attention during the Blue Devils’ run to the Final Four. He gained supreme value from facing top-tiered talent, providing him with the confidence that he could excel at the next level.
He played point guard. Saw action at the power forward spot.
The interplay with Flagg, coming when they were adversaries in practice or as teammates during game action, was also crucial for the 20-year-old’s overall development.
Kon Knueppel speaks with Duke coach Jon Scheyer during an NCAA tournament game against Alabama on March 29, 2025, in Newark, New Jersey. Elsa Getty Images
“I was like, I like the school and all that, like the coaches, they’re nice people,” Knueppel said. “But I think the biggest thing too was, people kind of questioned like I’m not going to be able to play. But I just knew even if I wasn’t going to play, going there, I’d get the best I could be at basketball because I’m competing against all these highly-touted recruits.
“So, if I’m getting that in practice every day, I’m going to have no choice but to get better. It’s an iron sharpens iron type of thing. That’s my thought. And I think that really did me a lot of good.”
Scheyer had more than a slight inkling Knueppel would be bound for the NBA.
“Yeah, it was pretty evident right away,” Scheyer said. “His body was physically ready, he has a great mind for the game and he’s a relentless competitor. And so those things just translate to make an immediate impact, not to mention his skill set. And he would go toe-to-toe with Cooper. He would push him when they’re on other teams, and then when they were on the same team, they would push each other, be better in that way.
“So, I think that relationship made for a special year for our team, but also for Kon’s development. They just made each other better all the time.”
Apparently, there’s another benefit from Knueppel’s stint at Duke.
“Yeah, a lot of the stuff we do now, even some of the terminology is very similar,” Knueppel said. “So, I think Scheyer’s doing a really good job of running pro style stuff that prepares the players. Especially the transition stuff. I think that’s been really applicable.
“But also just the way they run their organization. It’s really detail-focused and detail-oriented, and it’s similar to here.”
‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’
In selecting Knueppel with the first of four draft picks in June, teaming him with fellow Duke product James, forward Liam McNeeley and center Ryan Kalkbrenner, the Hornets think they’ve added a significant piece to their puzzle.
At 6-foot-6, 215 pounds, he’s a wing, allowing him to play shooting guard or small forward. His shooting stroke is what he’s become known best for in his small time in the spotlight, buoyed by posting seven games of 20 or more points at Duke and being one of the 15 freshmen in NCAA history with 550 points, 100 assists and 80 made 3-pointers in a season.
Charlotte was hooked on Knueppel.
“(It’s) the way he plays,” Charlotte coach Charles Lee told The Observer. “I think that he has all the intangibles, he has the mindset, the makeup of somebody who just wants to impact winning. And it didn’t matter if the ball was going to go to Flagg, it was going to go to Sion or whoever on the team, he was going to play off of them. And when they did play off of him, he was going to make the right play.”
Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel works against Jordan Clarkson of the New York Knicks during a preseason game on Oct. 17, 2025, in New York. Sarah Stier Getty Images
Lee recalled watching film with Knueppel during the pre-draft process. Specifically, it was an outing against Georgia Tech and a small sequence of plays left Lee even more convinced the Hornets should take him with their lottery selection if he was still on the board.
“He literally had a pick-and-roll where he literally comes off and I think he goes seam pass or a lob to (Khaman) Maluach,” Lee said. “And the next time I think he throws it to the shooter. Then the next time he scores. There was this perfect progression of how to play pick-and-roll and I think that was the first time I think a lot of people had seen him have the ball in his hands that much because Flagg obviously got hurt.”
Knueppel, as those like LaMelo Ball have already witnessed, isn’t strictly a shooter. He’s an athlete and can even get up and throw one down with authority.
During media day, Ball joked that seeing Knueppel dunk was like something out of “White Men Can’t Jump,” the popular 1990s film starring Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes.
Relayed to Scheyer, he chuckled at Ball’s sudden observation.
“Man, I would just say don’t judge a book by its cover,” Scheyer said. “That’s all I would say. That’s all I would say.”
As a floor spacer, Knueppel should compliment some of the Hornets’ key components well. If Ball draws defenders as he attacks the rim, there’s a good chance an extra defender will slide closer to the paint to help contest the attempt.
More room could also be available for Brandon Miller, due to Knueppel’s presence , notably when the ball is swung around the perimeter. That extra split-second where a defender has to react can be utilized to Miller’s advantage, allowing him to either get off a better uncontested shot or dart to the basket seeking to finish at the bucket or find an open teammate.
“I like Kon,” Miller said. “He’s just doing a great job of coming in every day with the mindset of competing. Of course, he’s going to help everybody out. Just that ability to shoot the ball, just have a great feel for the game. He doesn’t really shy away from the moments. That’s one of the areas I love about him. We’re going to continue to work with him and continue to make him better.”
Miller added: “He doesn’t shy away from anything, anybody. He’s willing to guard anybody, any position. That’s one of the things I like about him. Just the versatility of just him …”
That final word barely rolled off Miller’s tongue when Knueppel appeared from the arena’s lower level, strolling into the Novant Health Training Center for some post practice activities. Almost like synergetic magic.
“Speaking of,” Miller said. “It’s just him guarding, having that confidence to compete at the highest level.”
Getting offensive about defense
Indeed, it’s not all about offense for Knueppel.
Challenged to be good on both ends of the court, Knueppel insists he’s not about to be a liability defensively. He understands and is driven to become a two-way force.
“I think a lot of it just comes down to individual pride,” Knueppel said. “So, we call it our M.I.G. — our most important guy is the guy on the ball. So, a lot of it comes down to that. But also it’s knowing where to be when you’re off the ball, being in your shifts and your gap position in the help side, and also just knowing the coverages, whatever ball screen coverage we’re doing or if we’re switching off ball.
“Just being familiar with those.”
Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel during the 2025 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot at UNLV on July 15, 2025, in Las Vegas. Harry How Getty Images
It’ll just be a continuation of Knueppel’s education on that side of the floor. Many probably aren’t aware of Knueppel’s defensive skills, but Lee is and seems to be genuinely pleased.
“In his makeup, the thing that I’ve most impressed with is his ability to defend,” Lee said. “There’s a knowledge base there. There’s a physicality there, there’s a competitive spirit where he’s held his own and I think he’s added a lot to our group in such a short time.”
Scheyer is also quick to point out Knueppel’s gritty nature.
“Well, he was one of the top-rated defenders in college basketball last year if you look statistically,” Scheyer said. “And the great part about defense, obviously you think about on-the-ball and guarding really talented players and making them have to shoot contested shots. He’s really good at that and will continue to grow in that area. But he was so hard on himself with his positioning off ball. I think that’s the hardest adjustment for freshmen. Where do they value those things?
“Do they understand where to be and how to come over with physicality and with the right intentions? And Kon cared as much about that as he did about scoring on the other end. And that’s why he’s drafted fourth and going to be a really good pro for a long time, because he is a two-way player and he values the right things.”
It’s just in Knueppel’s makeup as a hoops junkie. But he also knows there’s a bigger picture in play.
“I think basketball is the ultimate game that teaches you a lot of lessons about life,” Knueppel said. “Hard work, pride in your ability to get better at things. Putting a team together, teamwork. Those things are applicable to both, applicable to life.
“So, just using all those lessons you learn and being able to apply that to the rest of your life. I want to be a father, giving that to my children. Those are the lessons that are the most important.”
This story was originally published October 22, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
Roderick Boone
The Charlotte Observer
Roderick Boone joined the Observer in September 2021 to cover the Charlotte Hornets and NBA. In his more than two decades of writing about the world of sports, he’s chronicled everything from high school rodeo to a major league baseball no-hitter to the Super Bowl to the Finals. The Long Island native has deep North Carolina roots and enjoys watching “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” endlessly.
Support my work with a digital subscription
