Duke targets freshman phenom’s brother in huge recruiting pursuit

Billy Heyen

Duke targets freshman phenom’s brother in huge recruiting pursuit image

Duke won't have its sterling freshman class back for another year, but the Blue Devils have proven adept at reloading.

One way to do it is to simply keep it in the family.

That's what Duke could do with Kon Knueppel and his younger brother, Kager.

Kager will be a high school junior in the fall, and Duke coach Jon Scheyer was on hand to watch him play in the Nike EYBL on Saturday.

At 6-foot-8, Kager is a bit taller than Kon.

Otherwise, he has a similar game, capable of scoring both inside and out with a lot of smoothness that greatly resembles his older bro.

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Kager Knueppel doesn't appear to be quite as highly regarded as his brother, but this summer heading into his junior year is a great time to change that.

His first Division I offer came late in 2024, from Toledo.

There is no online record that Kager has received an offer from Duke, but there's plenty of time for Scheyer and company to change that.

Sometimes, a comfort level with a family and a style of play can go a long way in recruiting.

If Duke came calling, the younger Knueppel would surely listen.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle