It’s no secret that Duke’s success this year is thanks in large part to two of their freshmen, forwards Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel. The Blue Devils ran roughshod through the ACC and national tournaments, resulting in their 18th Final Four appearance, and the coach that got them to most of those is taking notice.
Hall Of Fame Head Coach Explains What He Likes About the Young Duke Stars
Former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski took to his SiriusXM podcast “Basketball and Beyond with Coach K” to heap praise on Flagg and Knueppel.
“In college basketball, those two are as hard-working as any youngster playing,” he said. “You try to recruit good kids and good players, and boy, we hit the jackpot with these two guys.”
“You try to recruit great kids and great players…boy we hit the jackpot with these two guys.”
Coach K talks about what makes Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg so special & how their families have played a big role in the men they have become.@DukeMBB
🎧https://t.co/BryJ1ZmE5Z pic.twitter.com/7YxuVJE70z— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) April 1, 2025
Flagg has taken the college basketball world by storm in his first year. The Newport, Maine native averaged 18.9 points per game in 2024-25, along with 7.5 rebounds. The ACC named him Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year and also made him a unanimous selection for All-ACC First Team.
Additionally, he was only six voting points behind Louisville’s Chucky Hepburn for ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
The Newport, Maine native has found himself atop several NBA mock drafts, even when an ankle injury kept him out of the last two games of the ACC tournament. But not too far behind him is Knueppel, who’s a projected tenth-overall pick in Bleacher Report’s most recent mock.
The Milwaukee-born forward averaged shooting splits of 47.7 percent from the field, 40.1 percent from three, and 91.2 percent from the free throw line. His 14.4 points per game and stellar defense earned him a spot on the All-ACC Second Team. Both he and Flagg also netted spots on the ACC’s All-Defensive team.
Coach K, who took Duke to 13 Final Fours and won five championships, has a very clear reason for Flagg and Knueppel’s success in their first year: They were raised by competitive parents.
“They want Cooper and Kon to be coached hard,” he noted. “That doesn’t mean [being] yelled at all the time, but held accountable. Both of these kids understand accountability, and they understand showing up every day to work. That comes from their families.”
He also mentioned how their families are very knowledgeable about the sport of basketball and how the two players have improved the team around them by playing unselfishly. Both Flagg and Knueppel helped Duke achieve the most assists in total and per game in the ACC.
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Top-seeded Duke and its two star freshmen will play fellow 1-seed Houston on Saturday, April 5, in San Antonio for a chance to play in the national championship game.
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