By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer
Duke’s Kon Knueppel is heading to the NBA after one college season.
The 6-foot-7, 217-pound wing announced his decision Wednesday after a season that included him being named MVP of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament while helping the Blue Devils reach the Final Four. Knueppel averaged 14.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists as the team’s No. 2 scorer behind Associated Press national player of the year Cooper Flagg.
“Forever a Blue Devil,” Knueppel posted on social media. “Taking the Brotherhood with me to the next chapter. #NBADraft.”
Knueppel is the first member of Duke’s touted freshman class to go pro. He’s widely projected as a lottery pick.
“He’s a guy that is really about competition,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said in social-media video posted by the program Wednesday. “He never shied away from the competitive plays that have to be made in order to win at a high level.”
Knueppel is an efficient, floor-spacing scorer who shot 47.9% from the field, 40.6% from 3-point range and 91.4% from the foul line. And while he typically played a wingman role to Flagg, he thrived in the forefront when Flagg was injured during the ACC Tournament, scoring 28 points against Georgia Tech, 17 against rival North Carolina and 18 against Louisville as the Blue Devils won a second title in Scheyer’s three seasons.
Knueppel is only the eighth freshman to win MVP honors at the ACC Tournament.
The Milwaukee native closed with 16 points in a loss to Houston in the national semifinals. His free throw with 1:14 left marked Duke’s final point as the Blue Devils faltered late with the Cougars rallying with the game’s last nine points in the final 33 seconds.