Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel's big shot caps huge day for his family

Kole Knueppel had a high-profile game as a referee

But as much as the Hornets value their sixth win of the season, Knueppel's uncle had significantly more eyes on him as No. 1 Ohio State visited No. 15 Michigan. He ended up overseeing several controversial calls, one of them coming when a Michigan linebacker, Jaishawn Barham, looked like he delivered a head butt to another official.

While Michigan got a 15-yard penalty, Barham stayed in the game, likely because he seemed to be complaining about Ohio State's head butts, not going after the official himself. But Michigan did hold the Buckeyes to a field goal on that possession.

Referee Knueppel also oversaw a controversial touchdown call where Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith appeared to lose control of the football before scoring a 35-yard touchdown in the second quarter. The officials affirmed the touchdown call on review, with Knueppel explaining after the game that the officials didn't have a clear camera angle showing the ball was loose.

Kon Knueppel has an unusual first name, while his uncle's name has an unusual spelling. That made it clear to fans that the two were related, especially since "Knueppel" is not a particularly common name.

Kon, whose father's name is also Kon, has four brothers, all with "K" names: Kage, Kinston, Kash and Kid. Besides Kole, he has uncles named Klint and Klay, all of whom have basketball backgrounds. There's also a maternal uncle who played briefly with the Milwaukee Bucks, but he's named Jeff Nordgaard, apparently with no plans to change his name to "Kneff."

Kole Knueppel may have other big refereeing opportunities in the next few weeks for the college playoffs. His nephew could be hitting big shots for five more months.