Not too long ago, the Utah Jazz fell to the 5th pick in the NBA Draft despite having the best possible odds at landing Cooper Flagg. Now that they have missed out on the top 4 projected best players in the class, it begs the question: who do the Utah Jazz take with the 5th overall pick? So far, the projected top 4 picks are Cooper Flagg (Dallas), Dylan Harper (San Antonio), and then Ace Bailey or VJ Edgecombe to either Philly or Charlotte (it can go either way). Who does that leave? The next player on my personal big board is Kon Knueppel out of Duke, however, the player that most people are projecting the Utah Jazz to draft is Tre Johnson.

In this article, I’m focusing on my favorite player for the Utah Jazz to draft at No. 5 —assuming VJ Edgecombe or Ace Bailey don’t fall — that being Kon Knueppel. I believe he is the 2nd best complete in the class.

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Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images

: 6’6” 217 lbs
6.6 ¼
: 14.2 pts | 3.9 reb | 2.7 ast | 39.9% 3pt
Desmond Bane / Eric Gordon / Chris Mullin

As stated previously, Kon Knueppel would be my pick at 5 if I were the GM of the Utah Jazz. Kon is being mistaken for being only a catch-and-shoot player whose on-ball skills are limited. Now, I don’t know if that is just because of his complexion or because he played next to the best player in the class, but those accusations have got to stop. They just have too, because he is a whole lot more than that.

Who is Kon Knueppel as a basketball player?

Kon Knueppel is a hefty guard who is a savant with the basketball in his hands. His awareness of his teammates and the opposing team’s defenses makes him a tough guy to cover. He is one of the 4 draft-eligible freshmen who have an assist-to-turnover ratio >2 (the other names are Jase Richardson, Cooper Flagg, and Labaron Philon), and of those 4, he is the most efficient inside the arc with a 2PT% of 56.7%. Now, of that 56.7% from 2PT land, he is creating his own shot 76.3% of the time (unassisted). So, not only is he a wizard with the basketball, but he is a threat as a scorer.

Earlier, I had said that Kon is a whole lot more than just an off-ball shooter. Let me give you an example of why I know that to be true.

I have watched Kon since. Kon Knueppel led Wisconsin Lutheran to a 30-0 record and a state championship title, where he recorded a stat line of 11 points, 11 assists, and 5 boards. If that singular stat line doesn’t impress you, then let me tell you that he averaged 25.9 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and 5.3 APG, while tallying 2.8 stocks a game on 59/40/85 splits. Now, obviously he would have had to been a good player since he was recruited by Duke, but he was the lead ball handler on that team and looked like Luka Doncic compared to the other guys he was playing against.

Let’s take it to a premier AAU circuit featuring top high school basketball talent across the United States. He led the Nike EYBL in scoring with 22.5 PPG on 49.8% FG and averaged 3.5 APG with an A:TO of 2.2 — THE DUDE CAN PASS.

This past season at , Kon was stuck behind Cooper Flagg, which is justifiable because Cooper Flagg is the best player in the class by a lot, but it took touches away from Kon, ultimately stuffing him into that secondary ball-handler/off-ball role. During the ACC Tournament, Duke was without Cooper Flagg due to an unfortunate sprained ankle that he suffered in the ACC Quarterfinals against where he had to be wheeled out on a wheelchair to get it looked at. Leaving his teammates to fend for themselves for the rest of the tournament and down to Georgia Tech, Kon Knueppel led the team to a win where he dropped 28 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block on 55% FG and only knocked down 2 threes the entire game. He followed it up with a 17-point performance in the ACC Semifinals and then an 18-point outing in the ACC Finals, ultimately averaging 21 PPG and was awarded and named .

The kid can scale up, and I am sick and tired of people treating him like he is just some shooter that played with Cooper Flagg. I know he is more than a role player, and I would bet good money that he brings back top 5 to 7 value in the entire class when all is said and done. Kon is the 2nd best dribbler, passer, and shooter in the entire draft class, and that is exactly what the Jazz love and should prioritize this time around as they pick at 5. He is less of a swing pick than Tre Johnson, and yet he does almost everything better than Tre.

I talked a lot about him being more than just a shooter, but at the end of the day Kon can shoot the peel off of the basketball. There are only so many freshmen since 2008 to have shot as good as Kon Knueppel and have made it to the NBA. Here are freshmen with around the same attempts per possession around the same the efficiency Kon had this year:

Barttorvik.com

This is just an amazing group to be in if you are Kon. I see a lot of guys that have made a career out of playing off the ball, along with some guys who can create for themselves and put the ball on the deck & score. Out of these listed guys, he ranks 2nd in both TS% and free-throw rate (FTR). This just backs up how efficient and crafty he can be. It also shows how scalable Kon can be, which is one of the most important parts of basketball, in my opinion. Based on that 3PT query alone, the likelihood of him becoming a multi-year NBA player is very high, but we know he can do more than just be a shooter.

These numbers are very surprising, especially because of his lack of athleticism. Do I think he is a lockdown defender? No, but I anticipate him becoming a league-average/net-neutral defender when all is said and done.

Kon’s Weaknesses

Kon is not the best athlete, nor is he even considered a “sneaky athlete” as of right now. Is there a future where he can be an average athlete? Maybe. I wouldn’t write it off just yet. Kon only has 2 dunks for the entire year. Here are some notable players who had 5 or fewer dunks in their Fr-So seasons: Trae Young, Cameron Thomas, Luke Kennard, Collin Sexton, Tyler Herro, Keyonte George, Kyshawn George, D’Angelo Russell, Kemba Walker, Austin Rivers, Coby White, and more. That right there is his only weakness that he can control.

What do you mean by “weaknesses that he can control”? Well, one thing that Kon gets a bad rap for is that he looks better because of his stacked team. I’ll be fair and just because that is true. Because Kon played with such high-level talent, it gave him great players to run actions with, it gave him space to work so he could create the best possible look for either himself or his teammates, and lastly It could mean that his defensive numbers are boosted because of the size and athleticism that Duke had. Those are the 3 weaknesses people say “tarnish” his stellar freshman season, and is why they say he is not a top 5 talent.

I want to leave you all with this: Kon Knueppel is a phenomenal basketball player with high-level instincts and all-around BBIQ. His motor is non-stop, he isn’t afraid to be physical or dive for loose balls, he can rebound in traffic, he is competitive, he is a winner, and most importantly, from what I have seen, he is a mature & well-mannered kid that loves basketball. I expect him to kill the interview portion with the Utah Jazz, and I hope that the front office takes a long look at him. I could maybe even talk myself into taking him over a few other guys as well. BRING THE NIPPLE TO UTAH! DON’T LET THE NIP SLIP!