By SAM LANCE & ADAM ZAGORIA
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — While Kon Knueppel was busy helping the Charlotte Hornets win the NBA Summer League title, his younger brother has been busy garnering interest from Division 1 basketball programs.
Kager Knueppel, a 6-foot-9 Class of 2027 forward from Team Herro, helped his team reach the semifinals of the Peach Jam 16U division where they lost to the Florida Rebels.
He owns only one offer — from Toledo, where his uncle, Tod Kowalczyk, is the head coach. But he has garnered interest from several high-majors.
“Marquette reached out,” he said. “Syracuse, Bradley, Western Michigan, New Mexico State, BYU, and Notre Dame.” Duke has not reached out as of yet.
Kager Knueppel, the second-oldest of the five Knueppel brothers, conceded he doesn’t know much about any of the schools but is somewhat familiar with Marquette and head coach Shaka Smart.
“We’ve been texting,” he said. “He called me a couple times, but it’s a really good defensive program, so I’m trying to work on defending people really well.”
As for his overall game, Kager wants to improve his ball-handling primarily.
“I rebound well, I’m a shooter and I dunk the ball, and that’s about it,” he said.
He said he’s very proud of his older brother, who was drafted No. 4 overall by the Hornets and then had 21 points while making 4-of-11 from deep in the Summer League championship game Sunday night over the Sacramento Kings.
“I’m really proud, it’s really fun watching him,” he said.
Kager said his favorite NBA player is three-time MVP Nikola Jokic because he “plays at a slow pace just like me.” He also enjoys juggling and listening to Morgan Wallen and Zach Bryan.
Kager has no visits planned so far but said he has a rough idea of what he’s looking for in a school.
“All the guys have to be together and just stay together and have fun,” he said.
Team Herro 16u head coach Chuck Smith on Kager: “Kager is a hard worker that gets the job done by any means necessary. Whether if it’s shooting, rebounding, or defending, he brings it all to the table. Kager is one of the best shooters in the country if not the best. He offers tons of floor spacing and creates straight line drives for others because opposing teams are afraid to help off of him on defense.”
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