Kon Knueppel on the one thing he's looking to improve
Kon Knueppel on the one thing he's looking to improve | The Kevin O'Connor Show
The Duke forward sat down with Yahoo Sports senior NBA analyst Kevin O'Connor at the NBA draft combine in Chicago to discuss his former teammate Cooper Flagg's comments about him, plus what he's working on entering next month's draft. Hear the full conversation on 'The Kevin O'Connor Show' and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
View more
Video Transcript
Cooper flag had his media roundtable thing, and he said, Khan is just a great all-round person, player, very well rounded.
Advertisement
Anywhere he goes, he's gonna be great.
He's just so solid in many different ways.
He's such a safe pick.
There's not really a lot of downside to taking Khan.
What's your reaction to what Cooper Flag said?
That's pretty cool, you know, um.
Especially coming from a great player like him, um, he's a really good dude, great teammate, um, I'd say the same thing, probably a little bit more about him, you know, he's got uh unlimited potential.
Um, but he's just, he's a better person than he's a player, which is saying a lot because he's a really, really good player.
Mid-range, he shot 16 of 37, 43% on pull-up jumpers.
Advertisement
From 3 on pull-ups, only 3 of 21, 14%.
What is the key would be to extending your range from mid-range to 3 point range off the dribble?
What are you working on to improve that?
Yeah, I mean, I'm just trying to get more comfortable, you know, it's not a shot like 2 shots in the whole sample size.
I wasn't really comfortable, um, shooting, shooting those to be completely honest, like I didn't shoot a ton of them in high school.
Um, so I've just got to get, get reps, gotta get better at it, get more comfortable, and I'll get better from there.
Um, the mid-range too, I mean, we didn't shoot a lot of mid-range at Duke.
Advertisement
Um, I want that to be more of a a staple in my game because I think that's a great shot for me.
Don't take a lot of floaters either.
Like it was more of a Duke thing, just not like not taking floaters going more to the rim.
Yeah, we didn't, we didn't take a lot of, a lot of non non rim twos.
Um, a lot of threes want to end out threes and layups.
Um, but when you're on a great team, like you're always working to get a great shot, and I think, um, working, working more on that, that individual, individual stuff will be good, and, and I'll be more efficient at those and going forward.
When you're at finishing, you shot 62% at the rim in the half court percentnergy and you know, with you, you're like 2 ft finishing a lot.
Advertisement
How would you describe the value of 2-foot finishing for you at the rim?
Yeah, I, I think it's more valuable in college than it is in the pros.
There's less space, more guys in the lane.
Obviously the rules, the size of the lane is, is different than the pros.
So that's what kind of why I've been working more on uh 1 ft finishing creativity here this offseason.
Um, more of those floater type shots, mid-range shots, but, um, yeah, I mean, 2 ft finishing is, is really effective in, in college basketball, uh, using, utilizing your shot fake, your pivots, um, something I really try to do this season.
I mean, ultimately, like there's are certain guys like Brunson obviously are much larger than Bronson, but he still uses two-foot finishing as what, a 6-1, 6'2 guard in the NBA, but he's also got the floater.
He's also got the fade away.
He's got everything in the NBA, right?
Absolutely.
So it's about expanding your package.
That's what you're trying to do right now.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
19 minutes ago
- Newsweek
NBA Star Chris Paul Offers Major Update on Playing Future
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The NBA offseason is just a few weeks away from starting, and there are expected to be a lot of moves taking place around the league. There are some notable free agents heading onto the market, and plenty of teams are expected to be very active. One of the bigger names on the market is veteran point guard Chris Paul. Paul is coming off a very successful season with the San Antonio Spurs that saw him suit up for all 82 games. Despite being 40 years old, Paul seems to be leaning toward returning to the NBA next season. But where he plays remains very much up in the air. While appearing on "The Pat McAfee Show", Paul discussed his upcoming free agency. The veteran guard hinted that he wanted to continue playing in the NBA and that his family would be helping in his decision on where to play. "I still love to play basketball and I'm in the gym every decision is about my family more than anything "I talked to my family about it. My son is 16. My daughter is 12. The past six seasons I have lived without them. I've been away from them the last six years. That's the conversation.", Paul said. "I still love to play basketball and I'm in the gym every day.. My decision is about my family more than anything"@CP3 #PMSLive — Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 5, 2025 This article will be updated...
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
OKC Thunder might be 'idiots' but strength is their youth entering 2025 NBA Finals
Mark Daigneault thought he'd walk away unscathed, unbothered to deliver his signature platitudes on the biggest night of his young team's lives. Wrong. As he spoke to ESPN's Lisa Salters at midcourt, his reward for helping the Oklahoma City Thunder reach its first NBA Finals since 2012 on Wednesday, he was reminded of the nature of the group he's coaching. The Disney Channel vibes they emanate. These PG-13, bought-in 20-somethings whose defense is rated R. Advertisement 'They're professional,' Daigneault started, listing the reasons why their regular season success translated to June. 'They're high character …" He paused. Sophomore guard Cason Wallace wrapped him in a towel like E.T. A hat spawned atop his head, too. Center Chet Holmgren's hand reached to cock it sideways. 'They're idiots,' he continued, smiling. That idiocy is among the intangibles that got them here. The innocence of their youth has allowed them to enjoy each other's company, unlike how many teams exist. That they play almost not to disappoint each other is palpable. More: Mark Daigneault loves coaching his band of OKC Thunder 'idiots' on run to NBA Finals Advertisement 'They're special,' Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said of his teammates. 'The biggest thing is they make the NBA not feel like a job. And it can at times with all the travel and all the hard days, ups and downs — I know I sound spoiled being in the NBA and complaining about hard days, but these guys really make you feel like I'm a kid playing AAU basketball (at) 15 years old again. 'They make it seem like it's just fun. And I think that's what makes us really good, like we have so much fun being out there together. And I'm sure we all know that when you're having fun with things, you give it your all, and you excel at it because you enjoy it.' Look at the group. There are bubble babies, whose first taste of the league came then or afterward. The CBA babies, assembled with the picks garnered in awareness of this new deal. Unheralded players and second-rounders nearly across the board. A crew with similar struggles and chips on their shoulder in a place that vets players based on how those obstacles might shape them. For most of them, all they know is each other. Perhaps the misstep was thinking their youth was their kryptonite instead of a weapon. These AAU NBAers have mostly been on the same timeline, chasing the feeling of this unit. Shaped by their lives almost being tethered. Advertisement Among those older or with different experiences is Alex Caruso, who experienced what a championship team looks like, and was tactically chosen as the voice that could communicate to these whippersnappers what they need. There's Isaiah Hartenstein, also acquired by the Thunder last summer, who played with his share of superstars and knew what they needed. Out of a bruiser, out of a big man, out of a teammate. That's why general manager Sam Presti mostly left this core untouched. If the phrase 'additive' was ever thrown around as it relates to acquisitions, it might've teetered more toward intangibles than basketball fit. Presti knows how to make basketball fit. He's now seemingly mastered how to make the people fit. How to not taint what feels so uncommonly pure. 'Everybody in our locker room is grateful and humble, respectful, kind, professional, and it allows everybody to operate at full capacity,' Daigneault said. 'And we don't take that for granted. I don't take that for granted. 'And you ask, why? I think it's where they come from. It's their families. It's their circles. … who's around them, who's talking to them now, who was talking to them when they were 10 years old. It all fits together and makes sense. They're great people first, you know?' Advertisement And idiots. Never leave that out. More: Alex Caruso and the Thunder defense did it again, carrying OKC to NBA Finals | Mussatto Joel Lorenzi covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joel? He can be reached at jlorenzi@ or on X/Twitter at @joelxlorenzi. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Joel's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder's greatest strength is youth entering 2025 NBA Finals
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mark Daigneault's hometown always believed in Thunder coach, long before NBA Finals run
Steve Dubzinski is often asked a variation of the same question: Did you ever see Mark Daigneault becoming this? The 'this' part of that prompt has only gotten more unbelievable with time. Did Dubzinski, Daigneault's high school basketball coach in Leominster, Massachusetts, ever see Daigneault becoming an NBA head coach? Coaching in the All-Star Game?? In the NBA Finals??? Advertisement 'I knew he was gonna be successful, and he wanted to coach,' Dubzinski told The Oklahoman. 'Where that journey was going to end? I don't know. Could you have predicted an NBA Finals? Probably not.' Dubzinski was asked The Question by a Boston-area TV station recently. And before he knew it, the wise-cracking former coach, now a Massachusetts high school sports administrator, had talked himself into an analogy that put Daigneault in rather lofty company. 'I don't think people had Leo in English class as a sophomore and said, 'Oh, that young man's gonna be the pope.' Or Barack Obama in sixth grade art class and say, 'He's gonna be the president.'' Dubzinski had to stop himself. Advertisement 'It's good that I just threw Coach Daigneault in the same category as the president and the pope,' Dubzinski said with a laugh. Daigneault hasn't quite reached world leader status, but he and the Thunder are four wins away from becoming world champs. And back in Daigneault's hometown of Leominster — 1,700 miles from Oklahoma City — that's a pretty big deal. The Daigneault family is beloved in the town of 44,000 just west of Boston. It's Celtics country, but given the Thunder's ties to the area with Daigneault, Sam Presti and assistant GM Rob Hennigan, there's a proud pocket of Thunder orange and blue in the Bay State. MUSSATTO: How original Paul George trade between Thunder, Pacers created unlikely NBA Finals Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault talks with players during Game 2 of the NBA playoff series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. Oklahoma City won 149-106. Mark Daigneault's Leominster, Massachusetts, roots Mark Daigneault is an old soul. Anybody who's known him will confirm. It's as true of Daigneault at age 40 as it was when he was 14. Advertisement 'Perfect way to put it,' said Billy McEvoy, who met Daigneault in fourth grade. 'He would take a ribbing from his group of friends for that.' 'Let loose,' they would tell Daigneault. But Daigneault, even as a kid, was always the adult in the room. 'He was the captain of our high school basketball team for the qualities you look for in a captain — he was a leader, he led by example,' McEvoy said. 'Not even just in sports. I have kids now, and you want your kids to be friends with someone like Mark Daigneault.' Dubzinski described Daigneault as a 'cerebral' player who 'got the most out of his athletic ability.' Advertisement In other words, a good high school basketball player who maybe could've played small-college ball, but who was destined to coach. Daigneault was a shooter, 'make no mistake about it,' Dubzinski said. And a charge-taker that would make Jaylin Williams proud. 'I'm not surprised they're as good as they are defensively because Mark defended,' Dubzinski said. 'He was the master at taking the charge. It was before the flop, so maybe that played a little bit into it, frankly. But he could sell it.' More: What impresses OKC Thunder coach Mark Daigneault most about Pacers, NBA Finals foe? Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) talks with head coach Mark Daigneault during the second half of Game 1 of the NBA playoff series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Monday, May, 5, 2025. Daigneault leads the No. 1 defense in the NBA — a juggernaut of a unit that's hard-wired for freneticism. The Thunder's offense is buoyed by the league's MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whose coolness is contrasted by Daigneault's everymaness. Advertisement 'He hasn't changed who he is as a person despite the enormous success that he's had,' McEvoy said. 'I love that about him.' After five years as head coach of the G League Oklahoma City Blue and one season as a Thunder assistant under Billy Donovan — one of Daigneault's many mentors — Daigneault was elevated to Thunder head coach prior to the 2020-21 season. Having navigated the Thunder through its rebuild with a development-first approach, the implementer of Presti's plan, Daigneault is now leading the most dominant squad in basketball. The Thunder set an NBA record for average margin of victory en route to a 68-win season. Now Daigneault, in Year 5, is opposite Rick Carlisle, dean of the college of coaches, in the NBA Finals. Advertisement 'He's been very good to me as I've come up here,' Daigneault said. 'Couldn't have more respect for him.' No one is questioning the coaching chops on either sideline, but Daigneault's team is stocked with more talent. OKC is an overwhelming favorite to win the title and raise the franchise's first title banner since relocating to the plains in 2008. 'It's obviously a great opportunity for all of us,' Daigneault said. 'Everybody that gets to participate in the NBA Finals, it's something to be grateful for. And one of the cool things is you get to share it with the people you care about and the people that care about you.' Like the people who knew Mark Daigneault back in his Leominster days, when they knew what he wanted to be, but not how far it would take him. Advertisement 'He was born,' McEvoy said, 'to be a coach.' Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@ . Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at . More: NBA Finals 2025: From Loud City to Pacers Nation, get to know OKC and Indianapolis NBA Finals Game 1: Thunder vs. Pacers TIPOFF: 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Paycom Center in OKC (ABC) This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Thunder coach Mark Daigneault has support of Massachusetts hometown
