Kon Knueppel, a 6-foot-5, 208-pound rising junior forward from Wisconsin Lutheran (WI) High, is one of the top players in the Midwest in the Class of 2024. Knueppel has eleven scholarship offers, including one from Minnesota.
Knueppel averaged 14.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game this season as the Vikings finished 25-3, losing to two-time defending state champion Pewaukee 82-65 in the WIAA Section Finals. He has scored in double figures in 22 of 28 games with four games of more than 20 points, including a career-high 28 points versus Racine Case.
Knueppel averaged 10.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists for the Vikings as a freshman. He scored a career-best 23 points in a win over Pius XI Catholic.
Knueppel comes from a basketball family with both his father and mother having been stars in college. His father, Kon Knueppel scored more than 2,000 career points at Wisconsin Lutheran College from 1994-98. His mother, the former Chari Nordgaard, is the all-time leading scorer in UW-Green Bay history with 1,964 career points. His uncle, Jeff Nordgaard, was a standout at Dawson-Boyd (Minn.) High and Wisconsin-Green Bay and was a second round draft pick by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Knueppel is playing this spring and summer with Phenoms University AAU program. He currently has scholarship offers from Georgia Tech, Illinois, Iowa, Marquette, Miami (Fla.), Minnesota, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Toledo, USC and Wisconsin. Knueppel went to an Iowa football game, a Wisconsin football game and basketball game and a Marquette basketball game this past year. He also visited Illinois and Minnesota, too.
The Gopher Report caught up with Knueppel after his opening game at the EYBL in Kansas City to learn the latest on his college recruitment and junior year.
The Gopher Report: You are finally a junior now. Does that feel weird being an upperclassmen now?
Kon Knueppel: "Yes. It’s very, very weird. The last class, I was really close with, so that was weird to see them. I’ve knew them since they were little guys, so it is weird to see them graduate, so it’s getting kind of weird."
The Gopher Report: Does that make it seem more real now with recruitment? You have been recruited for awhile, but now coaches can contact you.
Knueppel: "It’s a whole different type of recruiting now. They can come and talk to me. That’s very new."
The Gopher Report: How many offers are you up to right now?
Knueppel: "12."
The Gopher Report: You look a little taller and that you maybe dropped some weight. Was that something that you consciously tried to do?
Knueppel: "Growing and trying to get into the weight room."
The Gopher Report: Do you think that has helped your game being a little stronger and being able to play inside along with your outside game?
Knueppel: "For sure."
The Gopher Report: I know that you have a ways before you have to decide on a school, but have you thought about where you might try to take some visits either this summer or when school starts?
Knueppel: "If I’m being honest, I haven’t really thought about it too much. Obviously, the ones that are closest to home. I live in Milwaukee, so Wisconsin. I’ve been to Marquette a couple of times because they are ten minutes from my home and obviously, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. The Midwest."
The Gopher Report: You mentioned Minnesota. What are you hearing from the Gophers?
Knueppel: "I talk to Coach Kemp from the Gophers. They want me to come down for another visit. I think that they were really watching today. They let me know."
The Gopher Report: Did you have a relative who went to Minnesota?
Knueppel: "My great grandpa went to Minnesota. My mom’s family is from Minnesota."
The Gopher Report: What is it going to mean to play Division I basketball?
Knueppel: "Oh, gosh. It’s going to mean the world to me. That’s something I dreamed about since I was a little kid, so it’s going to be pretty awesome."
The Gopher Report: Your mom and dad were outstanding players as well. How much are they a help to you with your recruiting now that it has picked up?
Knueppel: "They help me a lot. My dad is kind of new to it, too. My mom had been recruited, but it’s a little bit different now as far as new rules and NIL and stuff. They have been good counsel."
The Gopher Report: Your dad had a great college career, but he wasn’t a big recruit. Did he have more than a couple of offers?
Knueppel: "He had an offer from Michigan Tech, a D2, but his dad worked at WLC, so he went to WLC and got free tuition."
The Gopher Report: What are going to be the main factors that make you pick School A over School B or C?
Knueppel: "Me and my dad and my family really talk about keeping basketball, fun, so a school that is going to keep basketball fun and is focused on winning. That are the things that are most important."
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