There is a world in which Alabama head coach Nate Oats envisioned Duke basketball freshman Kon Knueppel suiting up for the Crimson Tide on Saturday night in the Elite 8 instead of the Blue Devils.
Oats said on Friday afternoon at the Prudential Center that he wanted the Wisconsin native in Tuscaloosa but instead he opted for Durham and is a key fixture in the success of Duke.
“One of the best shooters in the country,” he explained. “We tried to recruit him. We did a pretty good job, and it wasn't quite good enough.”
The near unanimous selection for the ACC All-Rookie Team put up 20 points on just seven shot attempts during the Blue Devil victory against Arizona in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night. He’s averaging 14.2 points per game on 39.9-percent shooting from 3-point range.
“I'd like to have his shooting ability in our offense. But they have it. Now we've got to figure out how to guard it,” Oats continued.
The Duke freshman had strongly considered Alabama during his recruiting process, taking an official visit just prior to announcing his commitment to the Blue Devils. He also looked at Wisconsin and Virginia.
However, it’s not like Nate Oats is putting out horrible 3-point shooters on a nightly basis. The Crimson Tide broke the NCAA Tournament record for most made 3-pointers in a game during its victory over BYU with 25. The previous record of 21, set by Loyola Marymount, was shattered with 7:30 to play in the 113-88 victory.
Mark Sears hit 10 of those 3-pointers while Aden Holloway connected with six and Chris Youngblood made five.
Knueppel’s career-high for 3-pointers in a game is six when he scored 25 points in a Duke victory in mid-January over Miami.
“He doesn't miss much…He's very good. There's a reason he's going to be a lottery pick this year.”
Since going just 1-of-4 from downtown in Duke’s blowout victory over Mount St. Mary’s in the Round of 64, Knueppel is 4-of-5 in his last two games and has left his impact in more areas than just shooting.
He’s posted back-to-back games of three assists and corralled four rebounds against the Wildcats.
Now, he will try and help lead Duke to the Final Four with a win over his college finalist.