Duke Blue Devils: "Coach K broke down in tears seeing this": College hoops fans in splits as Duke's Kon Knueppel pulls unusual but effective move

"Coach K broke down in tears seeing this": College hoops fans in splits as Duke's Kon Knueppel pulls unusual but effective move

By Richard Pereira

Modified Jan 29, 2025 15:49 GMT

NCAA Basketball: N.C. State at Duke - Source: Imagn

Kon Knueppel and the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils faced the North Carolina State Wolfpack on Monday night and came away with a 74-64 victory, but there was one highlight that caught the attention of many fans. On one play, Knueppel kept his teammate Tyrese Proctor from going out of bounds by grabbing his leg to stop Proctor's forward momentum which would have taken him out of bounds.

House of Highlights, a basketball page on Instagram shared a video of the play and wrote:

"200 IQ play from Kon Knueppel."

It didn't take long for fans to react to the Instagram post and here are some of their reactions.

"Coach K broke down in tears seeing this," one fan said.

A fan reacts to Kon Knueppel's highlight. (Image via Instagram/@HouseOfHighlights)

"Smartest thing I've seen since j Kidd water spill," another fan said.

A fan reacts to Knueppel's highlight. (Image via Instagram/@HouseOfHighlights)

"Watched basketball all my life never seen that," one user commented.

"'Power of friendship ahh play' is what they really wanted to say," a fan wrote.

"Nah coach gotta give him a 'Get out of running' card at practice for this," a college hoops fan said.

"I know that's probably fine, but it just looks so illegal," one Instagram user commented.

What's next for Kon Knueppel and Duke?

Kon Knueppel has played a solid role in No. 2 Duke's success so far this season and is averaging 13.5 points on 39.7% from beyond the arc. The Blue Devils boast an 18-2 record, having won their first 10 games of conference play. They are averaging 80 points on 47.4% shooting from the field and 36.3% from beyond the arc, blowing out opponents by a margin of over 20 points per game.

Cooper Flagg leads the way for the Blue Devils with 19.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game on shooting splits of 48.7% overall and 32.9% from downtown. Knueppel is the next highest scorer for the team and has made 47 triples this season which is the highest on his team.

The No. 2 Blue Devils prepare for their first game of February, against the North Carolina Tar Heels on February 1 at 6:30 p.m. ET.

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Edited by Saishyam Srikanth