NEWARK, N.J. -- In the early hours of this college basketball season, the story was Kon Knueppel.
Anyone who tuned in to watch projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg take on Maine in Duke's season-opener was also treated to a stellar performance from Knueppel, a freshman from Wisconsin who led the Blue Devils in scoring with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting with only a fraction of the buzz as his electrifying teammate.
A blowout win over Maine proved nothing for Duke, but that night proved something for Knueppel: he was perhaps even more ready for this stage than anyone expected.
Nearly five months later, Knueppel found himself in the same scenario, leading Duke in scoring on a rare night in which Flagg was just a little bit off. This time, it was the Elite Eight, with nearly 19,000 on hand at the Prudential Center and millions more watching at home.
Knueppel scored 21 points in an 85-65 win over Alabama, drilling a pair of early 3s and dishing out a team-high five assists to help Duke build what would be an insurmountable lead.
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For Knueppel's teammates, it was just more of what they saw all season along.
"To me, he's just been the same killer," freshman Isaiah Evans told Sporting News after the win. "He's just been that same guy I met in the summer."
Consistency has been the theme of Knueppel's first — and likely only — season at Duke. The 19-year-old has scored in double figures in 31 of 38 games, and he's hit multiple 3s in more than two-thirds of his games. Everyone has off nights, but Knueppel simply has fewer of them than most freshmen.
And as the lights have gotten even brighter in March, he's gotten even better. Knueppel's efficiency from 3-point range has steadily improved throughout the season; he's shooting 46.4 percent from long range over his last 13 games entering the Final Four.
"We tune things up with each other, we get better as the year goes on, but he's always been a killer to me," Evans said.
Knueppel's impressive night in Newark wasn't news to Duke backup guard Caleb Foster, who told reporters that it's what he's come to expect from the former four-star recruit. "He pretty much do that every game, I feel like," Foster said.
That steadiness has the attention of NBA scouts. Knueppel was projected as the No. 8 pick in SN's pre-tournament mock draft, and he's only added to his value by shooting 53.1 percent from the field in the big dance. Less than three months from now, Knueppel could be one of three Duke lottery picks alongside Flagg and Khaman Maluach.
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Knueppel's success is due at least partly to the astounding chemistry he and his teammates have built, despite most having never played together before this season.
"Obviously a very unselfish group," he told Sporting News after Duke's Elite Eight win, describing the Blue Devils' mentality. "The amount of practice we do together is gonna create that."
Duke is up against history in its pursuit of a national championship. Freshmen make up 62 percent of Duke's scoring production this season, higher than any champion in NCAA Tournament history. Only three teams have won a title with a freshman as their leading scorer — 2003 Syracuse with Carmelo Anthony, 2012 Kentucky with Anthony Davis, and 2015 Duke with Jahlil Okafor.
No one is more important to Duke's championship hopes than Flagg, but it takes a village to cut down the nets on the final day of the season. Okafor, Justise Winslow and Tyus Jones headlined the Blue Devils' last championship team, but that group likely doesn't win it all without true freshman Grayson Allen's hot hand in the title game.
If Duke is going to snap that decade-long drought, it's likely going to need more fearlessness from Knueppel in San Antonio.
The good news? He's shown his championship mettle all season long.