You hear other programs talk about a brotherhood and a bond that reaches past individual teams and the basketball court in general, but not many actually live it the way Duke does.
It's truly a Brotherhood in Durham. Once you've joined the fraternity, you're part of it for life.
That fact is an incredible recruiting pitch for Jon Scheyer to utilize. Former players are always around and willing to lend a helping hand to the next crop of stars to play for the Blue Devils.
In an appearance on The Crazie Cast, Kon Knueppel provided the latest example of The Brotherhood.
For high school basketball players, there's no more prestigious "All-Star" game than the McDonald's All-American Game. Every player wants an invite. Unfortunately, there's a limit, and every year there are snubs.
Incoming Duke freshman Bryson Howard was one of the biggest snubs from the 2026 event. While future teammates Cameron Williams and Deron Rippey Jr. participated, Howard was left at home.
Knueppel knows all about that. He was snubbed from the game in 2024, which is why he made it a point to reach out to Howard after the snub to offer encouragement.
"I actually reached out to Bryson this year after he didn't make it," Knueppel said, via the Crazie Cast. "Just to tell him that it's not the end of the world. You'll be all right."
Kon Knueppel offered encouragement to Bryson Howard after McDonald's All-American snub
Knueppel is a great example of it not being the end of the world. He went on to have a strong freshman season at Duke, where he averaged over 14 points per game on highly efficient shooting. He parlayed that one season into becoming the No. 4 pick to the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA Draft, where he finished runner-up in the Rookie of the Year voting to former Duke teammate Cooper Flagg.
The snub doesn't guarantee Howard the same level of future success that Knueppel has experienced, but it's a good indicator that you don't have to be a McDonald's All-American to have success in both college and the pros.
Howard arrives at Duke flying under the radar. That's a crazy thing to say considering he's the son of former NBA player Josh Howard and a blue-chip recruit in his own right. But he hasn't gotten the same level of publicity in his freshman class as Williams, Rippey, or Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje.
But Howard is a 5-star recruit, too, and ranked as the No. 22 overall player in the 247 composite rankings. Playing time won't be easy to come by on a loaded Duke roster, but he's the kind of talent who can force his way onto the court.
And thanks to the McDonald's All-American snub, he'll arrive in Durham with plenty of motivation to prove his doubters wrong.
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