Hornets’ Kon Knueppel recalls moment he found out Duke choked vs. UConn

In a now-famous video, Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks abruptly stopped his live interview during the 2025 NBA Draft to cheer for Kon Knueppel when the Charlotte Hornets selected him as the No. 4 pick.

Flagg was overjoyed for Knueppel, his teammate and roommate at Duke, where they made waves as a lethal one-two punch.

While they fell short of the national title in their one year with the Blue Devils, Flagg and Knueppel have kept tabs on their alma mater, especially during this year’s NCAA Tournament.

On “Wake Up Barstool,” the 20-year-old Knueppel recalled the moment when he found out that Duke choked against Connecticut in the Elite Eight, with Braylon Mullins sinking the game-winning three-pointer.

“As we were running out to warm up for halftime, there’s a big TV and an eating space for the ticket-holders, and I saw that it was 72 to 69 with 26 seconds left. I was like, ‘Woah!’ At that point, I was still pretty confident they’re going to win the game,” said Knueppel.

“As we were shooting at halftime, we just heard the whole crowd go, ‘Oh!’ which was a pretty tough way to figure out that we lost.”

Kon Knueppel shares how he found out Duke blew a 19 point lead to UConn pic.twitter.com/LM89apY9lq

— Wake Up Barstool (@wakeupbarstool) April 9, 2026

The sweet-shooting rookie of the Hornets added that his teammate, Liam McNeeley, who starred for the Huskies, talked smack to him immediately.

Knueppel also experienced a painful loss in the NCAA Tournament after Duke blew a big lead to Houston in the Final Four.

But while the Blue Devils suffered back-to-back bitter exits in March Madness, Knueppel is enjoying a sensational year in Charlotte, averaging 18.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists, while setting multiple records with his three-point shooting.

He and Flagg are in a tight race for the Rookie of the Year award.

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