Wisconsin Basketball Recruiting Target Gaining Blue Blood Interest

It didn’t take long after Wisconsin basketball hosted 2024 composite five-star small forward Kon Knueppel on an unofficial visit before the blue-blood schools started to come knocking. 

According to a report from Mark Miller, Duke, Gonzaga, and UCLA are starting to show interest in Knueppel, who went nuclear on the EYBL circuit and catapulted himself into a top 20 national ranking. 

The 6-foot-6 three-point marksman averaged 22.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game, shooting 50% from the field and a blistering 46.7% from beyond the arc.

Per the 247Sports Composite rankings, Knueppel is the No. 21 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class and is currently considering Virginia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Louisville, Marquette, Stanford, Alabama, and Wisconsin, but that could all change now, given the influx of interests. 

What Does This Mean for Wisconsin Basketball?

After Greg Gard landed four-star point guard Daniel Freitag, all eyes turned to Kon Knueppel as the obvious home-run piece that could send the Badgers 2024 recruiting class into uncharted territory.

Recruits of Knueppel’s caliber come around infrequently, and the Wisconsin basketball program is squarely in the mix for his services. The word on the street is that Knueppel intends to cut his list of schools down to 5-6 programs soon–and UW is expected to be on that list.

Knueppel has already taken official visits to Virginia, Notre Dame, and Stanford, plus he has Ohio State and Louisville on deck. In-state schools Marquette and Wisconsin recently hosted him on unofficial visits as well.

“I’m going to be looking for a place where I can get better, a place that I will have the opportunity to play right away,” Knueppel said. “Winning will be big for me, too. I want to play for a team that will win. I can fit into a lot of different styles of play.”

From all the intel that BadgerNotes has gathered, these blue bloods coming into the mix will absolutely factor into his short and long-term plans–with Duke specifically being the team to watch.

In one of the most tight-lipped recruitments I can remember, it’s becoming harder to feel good about Wisconsin basketball fending off these top-tier programs. Still, the hometown angle will assuredly keep them involved with the Phenom Univeristy standout until the end.

“Being the hometown hero there [UW], that’s really intriguing,” Knueppel told reporters. “They have a great program, and they think I fit really well into how they play, and a lot of others also say I fit how they play.”

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