Kon Knueppel, from the Duke Blue Devils, shared what he thinks about his teammate Cooper Flagg. The young star of the team has been dealing with an ankle injury for the past few days after twisting his foot during the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.
Flagg’s exit was a tough blow for Duke. However, the team managed to bounce back and beat Georgia Tech in that game. In fact, they won the ACC tournament and secured the number one seed for the upcoming NCAA Tournament, after defeating Louisville 73-62.
During the game against Louisville, Kon Knueppel stood out for his performance, scoring 18 points and grabbing eight rebounds, earning the title of Tournament Most Valuable Player. Tyrese Proctor also had an excellent performance, scoring 19 points for Duke.
Here’s what Kon Knueppel thinks of Cooper Flagg
When asked about his opinion on winning the game without Cooper Flagg’s participation, Kon Knueppel didn’t hesitate to respond: “Cooper is a great player. But this is a great team.”
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In reality, the Duke forward is right, as the team has shown its talent and strength in recent games, where Flagg has been unable to participate due to his recovery.
Coach Jon Scheyer believes this represents an opportunity for other players to showcase their talent on the court. Examples of this are Knueppel and Khaman Maluach, who played key roles in the Blue Devils’ victories.
“I think it’s probably hard for me to answer because I see them every day and I know how valuable they are… But I think, to see them, you have to step up to do more. Cooper does a lot for us. Seeing Kon, he’s really been our guy to rely on, and without him, seeing the versatility of other guys stepping up, like Khaman,” explained the coach.
For Scheyer, the performances of both players reflect their training and team chemistry: “… it’s not about trying to do something special, it’s just about doing the simple things really well, and then those special plays will happen naturally. I think that’s exactly what happened to Khaman, Kon, and some of our other guys tonight.”
