CBS 58's Hometown Athlete: Kon Knueppel preps for life-changing lottery pick this month
MEQUON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Sometimes Kon Knueppel can't even fathom it.
"I didn't think it would happen this quickly," Kon Knueppel says. "Something I definitely thought that if I worked hard enough, it could happen. It's been a really, really quick experience. And I've super enjoyed just working every day here now. Preparing for the draft."
Here at Athlete Performance in Mequon, with Marquette legend and former NBA player Travis Diener.
"So, what's it like out there? I was kind of joking around with you before that you make eight in a row. I'd be ecstatic. And you literally asked Travis, like, how many did I miss? He goes, four. You were just kind of like, oh, come on. Like, is that how competitive you are?"
"Yeah. I mean you don't wanna miss any shots," Knueppel says. "I think, I mean, I've been out here with him where I miss everything. I've had horrible days. And I've been out here where I - one day I was 48 for 50."
And that includes 3's off the dribble.
"It's something that I gotta get more comfortable with," Knueppel says. "I didn't shoot a bunch of them last year. I didn't shoot a lot of them in high school. So just something I'm getting more comfortable with because it could be a weapon at the next level, for sure."
An expected lottery pick out of Duke and Wisconsin Lutheran High School, Knueppel should go between spots 5 and 11.
"Do you even pay attention to when people say, okay, he's going to go 5 through 11? Or he's going to go in a certain spot or whatever? How do you process your name being out there for that stuff?"
"Yeah, I mean I don't really pay attention to those mock drafts and things," Knueppel says. "Like, they don't really know. You know. They don't really know what's going on. So, I get help with my circle and the people I trust and the people that actually know what's going down."
And in less than a month, he'll hear his name called in another magical moment of his hoops career.
"It's beyond a dream," Knueppel says. "Yeah, it's beyond a dream. And now I'm playing with house money."