$45M worth Coach K gushes over Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel as Duke duo plays key role in Final Four run
Legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski admires current Blue Devils superstars Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel for leading the 2024-25 edition of the squad to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.
Krzyzewski, who led Duke to five national titles and 13 Final Fours during his 42-year tenure in Durham, described the freshman duo as unique because they have outstanding skills and knowledge about the game but aren't satisfied with their talents. They want to be better, working harder to polish their craft during practices and be held accountable and responsible for their actions.
The Hall of Fame coach, whose net worth is pegged at $45 million (per Celebrity NetWorth), thanked their parents for letting the Duke coaching staff, led by coach Jon Scheyer, guide them in their growth as potential basketball superstars.
"Their parents are really knowledgeable, and are tough competitors, and they want Cooper and Kon to be coached hard," Krzyzewski said in his show "Basketball & Beyond with Coach K Mike Krzyzewski" on SiriusXM College Sports Radio.
"Both these kids understand accountability, and they understand showing up every day to work that comes from their family in college basketball, you have to say those two are as hard working as any youngsters playing," he added.
Krzyzewski also praised Cooper Flagg for being unselfish with the ball, allowing his teammates to shine, resulting in a trip to the 2025 Final Four.
"And Cooper has been amazing with that. Hs support of his teammates while he's getting what he gets and what he should get has been remarkable," the former USA Basketball coach said. "But really that helps Jon Scheyer and his staff so much because they build on that."
Flagg and Knueppel are the team's 1-2 punch in offense and have led Duke in this year's Final Four run. The 6-foot-9 Flagg averages 19.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game during the NCAA Tournament.
On the other hand, the 6-foot-7 Knueppel has put up 14.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.3 apg, and 1.3 spg during the four-game stretch.
Coach K plans to go straight to San Antonio and watch Duke-Houston Final Four clash
Legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski expressed plans to watch the Blue Devils' Final Four game against the Houston Cougars on Saturday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
During Tuesday's episode of his program, Coach K told co-host Chris Spatola that he wants to be there for his prodigy, former player and now Duke coach Jon Scheyer.
"I’m planning on being there to watch ‘em," Krzyzewski said. “I try to stay out of it publicly, just to give our program a chance to keep moving in its direction. But I want to be there for Scheyer."
Scheyer, who played for the 2010 Duke team that claimed its fourth national title and worked as assistant coach in the Blue Devils' fifth title run in 2015, was named as Krzyzewski's replacement in 2022 and has done a great job since then.
He led Duke to two ACC regular-season titles in 2023 and 2025, and added the ACC Tournament championship this season. He hopes to win the sixth national title for Duke, but he and his team would have to hurdle No. 1 seed Houston first in the Final Four.
Krzyzewski thinks it would be incredible for Scheyer to win the national title in only his third season as coach.