FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari never stops recruiting, especially with Memphis hosting an EYBL showcase tournament that many highly regarded prospects participated.
Calipari apparently now has interest in rising junior Kager Knueppel, according to SLAM High School post on Instagram. If his name sounds familiar, it should since his older brother, Kon, was instrumental in Duke’s run to the Final Four this season.
Despite not seeing the court much during his sophomore season, he has seen his stock rise on the recruiting trail of late due to his work in the grassroots circuit with Team Herro. The 6-foot-8 guard runs the floor well in transition while also showing the ability to stretch the floor with a solid shooting stroke.
One key bit Knueppel’s game is his floor vision as a taller guard capable of seeing the whole floor at once. He has a pure feel for the game and trusts his basketball IQ to make the right play.
Knueppel’s nimble frame will fill out as he ages and already shows a willingness to attack the rim for easy looks. His length gives him the ability to guard multiple positions, blocking shots and attack the boards.
Knueppel may not be as highly regarded at this point in his high school career, he certainly has the pedigree to leave a mark wherever he lands during the 2027 recruiting cycle.
Not only is his brother a potential first round draft pick but their mother, Chari, is Wisconsin-Green Bay women’s basketball’s all-time leading scorer.
While he may not have the recruiting star power at this juncture, he has the pysical gifts and family background to be a potential 4-star prospect or higher given time. Calipari’s interest in Knueppel going into his junior year has to be promising for college basketball future.
Going into his second season at the helm, he signed another top five recruiting class with a pair of McDonald’s All-American’s signees such as Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas ready to make an immediate impact.
As long as Calipari is still coaching at the college level, he will always focus on building his roster with multiple freshmen in mind even with retention being key to success with roster turnover.
“I’m still going to recruit young players because I like changing families,” Calipari said last April. “But, when you start talking more than nine [players], 10 11, 12, I’m coaching everybody. I don’t just coach the guys that are starting. I’m coaching them all.”
“We’ll still recruit freshmen, but we just won’t have like last year [at UK], where we had seven freshmen. You can’t do that anymore.”
Calipari has already performed miracles in his first season at Arkansas after starting 1-6 in SEC play. Now, his team is rebuilt and reloaded with hopes of going further in the NCAA Tournament next sesaon.
Despite the Razorbacks struggling early on, the team finished with a record 22-14 and No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Calipari led Arkansas to the Sweet 16 with victories over No. 7 seed Kansas and No. 2 seed St. John’s before losing to No. 3 seed Texas Tech in heartbreak fashion 85-83 after holding a double digit lead in the second half.
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