The 2025 NBA Draft was quite a night for the Duke Blue Devils.
The Blue Devils had three lottery picks: the No. 1 overall pick in Cooper Flagg, who was selected by the Dallas Mavericks; the No. 4 overall pick, Kon Knueppel, who went to Charlotte to join the Hornets; and the No. 10 overall selection in big man Khaman Maluach, who was acquired by the Phoenix Suns from the Houston Rockets in the Kevin Durant deal.
Duke also had two second-round picks: Sion James, who joined Knueppel in Charlotte as the No. 33 overall pick, and Tyrese Proctor, who went No. 49 overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Although the Blue Devils were taken out in the Final Four by the eventual runner-up Houston Cougars, they showed that they will still be quite the force under head coach Jon Scheyer.
Under Scheyer, the Blue Devils have become a very close-knit team and the relationship between Knueppel and Flagg, who were roommates at Duke, is all the evidence you need.
Kon Knueppel Shares Only Issue With Cooper Flagg as a Roommate
Knueppel sat down for an exclusive interview with Taylor Rooks, and he talked about what a great teammate Flagg was and what a good friend he became as well. In fact, Knueppel credited Flagg for helping him out when he felt homesick and was missing his family.
“He was great,” Knueppel. “I don’t, the only time he was loud was when his brother Hunter and Ace would come over. And they were, I came over once, and Ace was just chilling in my bed so the only complaints I’d have were about those guys. Um, I have nothing bad to say about Cooper.”
Knueppel’s high praise for Flagg obviously doesn’t extend to the rest of his family. Of course, Knueppel should be familiar with that type of behavior, as he has a big family with four younger brothers (Kager, Kinston, Kash, and Kidman), who have all pursued basketball, as well.
Rooks also brought up Flagg’s reaction when she was interviewing him and he found out Knueppel had been drafted.
“It’s really special,” Knueppel explained. “It extends beyond him just being my teammate or whatever. He actually cares for me and wants me to have success. And we feel that way about each other.
“But to see someone so excited for someone else’s success, you don’t see that all the time… that was really cool. I got a little choked up when I saw for the first time. That was a special thing.”
With the type of attitudes both Flagg and Knueppel have themselves, it won’t be surprising to see them have continued success in the NBA.
