Four-star wing Knueppel breaks down his official visit to Virginia

Four-star Rivals150 guard Kon Knueppel is coming off a recent official visit weekend in Charlottesville, the first 2024 standout to take an OV to UVa was thus far.

And it’s safe to say that Tony Bennett and the Wahoos made an impression on the Milwaukee native during his time on Grounds.

“It was a great visit,” Knueppel told CavsCorner. “I got the chance to talk to Coach Bennett and his staff a lot during the weekend. They are really good people over there and we really enjoyed our time there. We got to see a really good game against Duke as well. It was a really great atmosphere. They have really big basketball fans around that town and they are really intense.”

Being able to see Virginia in person was important for Knueppel and he enjoyed seeing things around town.

“It really was great to see the campus in person,” he explained. “The campus has a really good college town type feel. The town is kind of similar to the town where I live so I liked that. It was great to see how the current team plays and competes. Being able to see the arena was awesome and I was really impressed with the atmosphere, the fans there are great.”

No. 57 overall in the class of 2024, Knueppel had a great conversation with Bennett and really enjoyed learning about Bennet’s faith and the core values for the Virginia program.

“Coach Bennett really explained how his program is a faith-based program and that is something that really appealed to me,” he said. “Their core values are rooted in Christian faith and that is again something that is really appealing to me and influential in my life.”

After seeing Virginia play in person, Knueppel said he can see himself doing well in the Cavalier program well.

“I think I would fit pretty well at Virginia,” he said. “I think it would make me a better player for my development if I went there. However, if I do go there, I need to get stronger and become a better defender. They have talked to me about that and would have a plan in place for me if I decided to go there.”

As is so often the case with players from Wisconsin, there is a family connection with Bennett and the 6-foot-6 shooting guard.

“Coach Dick Bennett, Tony’s father, coached my uncle in college at Green Bay,” he said, “and I think Tony was a senior when my uncle was a freshman on that team.”

Speaking of Wisconsin, Knueppel enjoyed talking with the current Virginia players that are from the Badger State.

“I got to meet a couple of the players and being able to talk to them was awesome,” he said. “There are a few players on the team from Wisconsin so it was great to talk to some fellow Packers fans. But in terms of basketball, you could see their joy in the game and joy playing the game and that is always something you want to see and want to watch for on these types of visits.”

To this point, Knueppel has already taken official visits to Stanford and Notre Dame.