The thing Kon Knueppel does better than any player in NCAA Tournament

[ad_1]

Duke basketball was having what Neal Begovich described as a “regular practice” on the Tuesday before the opening weekend of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. 

During the Blue Devils’ 5-on-5 portion of preparation, freshman Kon Knueppel did something that made Begovich smile and chuckle as he reflected on the moment. After playing 114 minutes during an ACC Tournament MVP run in Charlotte, Knueppel didn’t show any signs of slacking in practice.

“He dove on the floor on a play where he could’ve probably just picked it up. I was like, ‘Man, that’s gotta hurt. You’re already hurting from last week.’ I think his hip was bugging him, too. He told me afterwards, he was like, ‘Man, why’d I do that?’ I was like, ‘You can’t control it, it’s just how you play,’ ” Begovich said in Raleigh, where the top-seeded Blue Devils (33-3) picked up a pair of wins to snag a spot in the Sweet 16. 

“You either have it or you don’t, but it’s infectious for our whole team. That play against North Carolina in the first half, where all those guys are the first ones on the floor, I feel like that kind of just speaks to our style of play this year.” 

Buy Duke NCAA Tournament tickets

That play happened with Duke up 21 points on the Tar Heels in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. In the final minute of the first half, a ball popped loose and rolled toward the sideline. Isaiah Evans hit the floor first, followed by Knueppel, who was parallel to the ground as he collected the loose ball. 

“Whenever there’s a loose ball, he’s always the one in the middle of it,” Begovich said. “It speaks to how hard he plays, for sure.” 

SWEET 16 PREDICTIONS: Who will win March Madness? NCAA Tournament bracket predictions, Sweet 16, Final Four picks

Even former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski raved about Knueppel on his Sirius XM radio show ahead of March Madness.

“I think (the ACC Tournament) showed the world how good Kon Knueppel is, which I’ve been saying all year. I can’t…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://www.fayobserver.com/story/sports/college/acc/2025/03/26/kon-knueppel-duke-basketball-ncaa-tournament-march-madness-cooper-flagg-jon-scheyer/82638102007/

Author :

Publish date : 2025-03-26 08:04:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.