Sam Hauser #114 vs. Kon Knuepel #22...

[duanewade]

Sam was a legit 6'8 with very elite shooting and broad shoulders that allowed him to be an effective rebounder as well.   

Kon is 6'5, appears to be a very good shooter also, sturdy build but not tall enough or athletic enough to be an effective down low player.  Kon appears to be more effective at creating his own shot than Sam and maybe a better passer as well.  Kon also shows some sneaky athleticism/cleverness around the basket that Sam never showed. 

Both players are good kids with very high basketball IQ's and could/can help any program in any number of capacities.  But the wide discrepancy in ratings just shows that hype factors over-rate and under-rate some players on even known factors.  Unknown factors will always be an issue in recruiting as no one knows if a kid will continue to develop or if they already reached their peak.  It's also impossible to know how hard a kid will work over the next 3 to 4 years in reaching their full potential or not. 

Having said the above, if Kon wants to come (I doubt it as I think it will be Virginia or somewhere else) take him but I don't think he brings more to the table than even Zaide Lowery.  Zaide has a similar game and height to Kon but is also uber-athletic in comparison to Kon and probably a much better defender. 

Trying to force playing time for Kon next year could lead to some internal acrimony, especially if he's not clearly better than other players. 

Sometimes the best recruiting "wins" are on the players you miss out on (i.e.: the Bobby Frasor "miss" led to Dominique James).  If Shaka doesn't believe in the portal as he rather be loyal to his own recruits then that rule should also apply to not trying to over-sign players when you have potentially great players already in waiting. 🤷‍♂️

https://247sports.com/player/sam-hauser-31242/high-school-50845/

https://247sports.com/player/kon-knueppel-46115296/

[Its DJOver]

This sounds awful close to "Bo cooled on him".  We should be better.

I trust Shaka to find a way to make things work, Kon or no Kon.

[Uncle Rico]

This sounds awful close to "Bo cooled on him".  We should be better.

I trust Shaka to find a way to make things work, Kon or no Kon.

We can't lose another white kid to Virginia

[Its DJOver]

We can't lose another white kid to Virginia

Especially since we know that Shaka is worse than Porter Moser because he didn't land Leon Bond, just ask duane.

https://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=62104.msg1361446#msg1361446

[MU82]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually trust Shaka Smart to build our program more than I trust duanewade.

Ridiculous, I know.

[The Sultan]

Sam was a legit 6'8 with very elite shooting and broad shoulders that allowed him to be an effective rebounder as well.

...

https://247sports.com/player/sam-hauser-31242/high-school-50845/

https://247sports.com/player/kon-knueppel-46115296/

The links you provided have Sam as 6'6" 190 lbs and KK at 6'5" 205 lbs. I don't think they are physically all that different at this same point in their lives.

[Herman Cain]

Sam was one of my favorite MU players and I am delighted for his NBA success . Unfortunate what happened in his Senior Season, unfortunately that is water under the bridge now.  If anyone watched Sam's full game tape in high school, it was plainly obvious he had the talent to make an immediate impact in college.

Watching full game tapes of Kon, it is clear he has a similar ability to be a collegiate contributor in the early days. Kids who can shoot like Kon don't grow on trees.  Hopefully, Shaka can win this recruiting battle.   

[Goose]

I would be ecstatic if Shaka landed Kon. I have no idea what the chances are, but I hope we land him.

[Uncle Rico]

Sam was one of my favorite MU players and I am delighted for his NBA success . Unfortunate what happened in his Senior Season, unfortunately that is water under the bridge now.  If anyone watched Sam's full game tape in high school, it was plainly obvious he had the talent to make an immediate impact in college.

Watching full game tapes of Kon, it is clear he has a similar ability to be a collegiate contributor in the early days. Kids who can shoot like Kon don't grow on trees.  Hopefully, Shaka can win this recruiting battle.

I hope we lose it.

[Lennys Tap]

I hope we lose it.

We're already over our quota.

[Jockey]

We can't lose another white kid to Virginia

They gotta have somebody to fill up those peach baskets.

[BCHoopster]

They gotta have somebody to fill up those peach baskets.

Kon wants to get up and down the court quickly, at Virginia really

[pbiflyer]

We're already over our quota.

Guessing Shaka has an idea of who will and won't be here next year. Heck some players may have already told him such information.

[milwaukee ex-pat]

Sam was a legit 6'8 with very elite shooting and broad shoulders that allowed him to be an effective rebounder as well.   

Kon is 6'5, appears to be a very good shooter also, sturdy build but not tall enough or athletic enough to be an effective down low player.  Kon appears to be more effective at creating his own shot than Sam and maybe a better passer as well.  Kon also shows some sneaky athleticism/cleverness around the basket that Sam never showed. 

Both players are good kids with very high basketball IQ's and could/can help any program in any number of capacities.  But the wide discrepancy in ratings just shows that hype factors over-rate and under-rate some players on even known factors.  Unknown factors will always be an issue in recruiting as no one knows if a kid will continue to develop or if they already reached their peak.  It's also impossible to know how hard a kid will work over the next 3 to 4 years in reaching their full potential or not. 

Having said the above, if Kon wants to come (I doubt it as I think it will be Virginia or somewhere else) take him but I don't think he brings more to the table than even Zaide Lowery.  Zaide has a similar game and height to Kon but is also uber-athletic in comparison to Kon and probably a much better defender. 

Trying to force playing time for Kon next year could lead to some internal acrimony, especially if he's not clearly better than other players. 

Sometimes the best recruiting "wins" are on the players you miss out on (i.e.: the Bobby Frasor "miss" led to Dominique James).  If Shaka doesn't believe in the portal as he rather be loyal to his own recruits then that rule should also apply to not trying to over-sign players when you have potentially great players already in waiting. 🤷‍♂️

https://247sports.com/player/sam-hauser-31242/high-school-50845/

https://247sports.com/player/kon-knueppel-46115296/

This is right on, nice post.

[El Guerrero 2]

This is right on, nice post.

It is not, in fact, right on. I like Zaire Lowry and am excited to see what he'll develop into as a great fit for Shaka's system, but to claim he has a "similar game" to K2 is silly. K2 is an elite shooter with questionable athleticism. Zaide is an elite athlete with questionable shooting.

Also, this idea that Shaka has to be careful landing studs because other guys might get unhappy is azz backwards. No one is guaranteed anything and gave to earn it. That's true for the seniors just like the freshman. Shaka certainly isn't guaranteeing K2 playing time, but he's also not going to turn him down bc he doesn't want to hurt the current roster's feelings.

[milwaukee ex-pat]

I respectfully disagree - the post clearly stated to "take him" if he wanted to come and I agree it would all work out in competition with the best player playing.  It was a good post imo tho because it recognized that we have many great pieces.  I am not anti - Kon but I think he may not be a true "5 star" that some are hyping him to be and that other less heralded players on the team may in fact out compete him for time.  He does seem to resemble Joey in some respects and I wonder about his speed and length on defense.

That said take him for sure if chooses Marquette but the other point I think the poster gets at a bit is the special sauce of Shaka's success here is program building and not recruiting over his "finds" a la avoiding the transfer portal.  Its a nuanced point - doesn't mean not taking talented players - it just highlights our system seems to produce big jumps each year for players and sophomore Zaide might very well be better than Kon etc.  JM2C..

[The Sultan]

I'm just happy duanewade finally has a friend.

(Although it might be his burner account.)

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Shaka has already recruited over Ellis and Itejere. By the end of this season, I think we will be talking about how Shaka recruited over Sean Jones with Tre Norman. Fear of recruiting over is not why Shaka doesn't use the transfer portal or recruit likely one and dones often.

[Goose]

TAMU

I agree on recruiting over guys has happened and will continue to happen. Interesting that mention Norman in your post. I am 100% in favor of recruiting over guys, especially with the way Shaka is building the program.

[milwaukee ex-pat]

I don't know that I would describe Ellis  and Itejere as being technically over recruited. They both were given some time to show they belonged and due to injury on Ellis' part they didn't cut it. That's different imo than getting someone in the portal to jump developing players as some here were advocating for when Omax left early.  Kon would be a frosh and sign him if possible but I liked the poster's point about Zaide and in general that we currently have a roster of all rising high D1 players. 

[wadesworld]

Talk about one way to never see improvement.  Just remove all competition for spots and minutes and say, "Hey kid, we think you're great.  But you're too good.  You might be better than the guys on our roster who we promised would be getting more minutes when uperclassmen left.  Good luck at Kansas where you might win a national title!"

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I don't know that I would describe Ellis  and Itejere as being technically over recruited. They both were given some time to show they belonged and due to injury on Ellis' part they didn't cut it. That's different imo than getting someone in the portal to jump developing players as some here were advocating for when Omax left early.  Kon would be a frosh and sign him if possible but I liked the poster's point about Zaide and in general that we currently have a roster of all rising high D1 players.

So Ellis and Itejere couldn't cut it and Shaka found better players who were going to be above them on the depth chart.  Thats the definition of being recruited over.

Shaka didn't get a transfer ro replace Omax because he thinks Joplin is better than anyone they could have gotten in the portal.

[El Guerrero 2]

There also is a big difference between not wanting to spend limited NIL dollars on transfers likely to be short term rentals and avoiding HS studs who are willing to buy into the system just bc older players might get jealous.

[4everwarriors]

So, now we're debating whether to take Kon if he wants to come? I swear some of you dudes couldn't recognize talent if you were spotted t a l e n, hey?

[Uncle Rico]

So, now we're debating whether to take Kon if he wants to come? I swear some of you dudes couldn't recognize talent if you were spotted t a l e n, hey?

Yes, "debating"