Interesting Prediction of Duke Basketball Starting Lineup

Last week, CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein watched the 2024-25 Duke basketball players compete in five-on-five intrasquad action in the Coach K Center practice facility. And the projected starting five he posted afterward includes one notably surprising choice in the form of a freshman wing getting the nod at the two-spot over a sophomore guard with starting experience in Durham.

Here are Rothstein's projected Blue Devil starters under third-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer:

• Junior guard Tyrese Proctor

• Freshman guard/forward Kon Knueppel

• Freshman guard/forward Cooper Flagg

• Graduate forward Mason Gillis

• Freshman center Khaman Maluach

The surprise in that group is Knueppel in place of sophomore guard Caleb Foster, who emerged as a leader in the offseason after drawing starting nods in over half of his 27 outings as a freshman before missing all of March with a right ankle injury.

That said, Rothstein isn't alone in his high expectations for Knueppel. After all, the former five-star prep from Wisconsin appears in the first round of several way-too-early 2025 NBA mock drafts. There is no denying that he's a heralded sharpshooter known for his calculated steps, exhibiting a silky flair stemming from his confident playmaking at his own dictated pace with the ball in his hands.

"Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast," the 6-foot-6, 217-pound newcomer said at last week's Duke basketball media day.