Kon Knueppel makes it clear Duke is a threat in March, with or without Cooper Flagg

The college basketball world held its collective breath on Thursday, as star Duke freshman Cooper Flagg was forced to leave his team's ACC quarterfinal matchup against Georgia Tech in a wheelchair after suffering an ankle injury. Further testing revealed only a sprain rather than any structural damage, and Flagg was able to return to the Blue Devils bench without a walking boot. But with Selection Sunday right around the corner, it's unclear what this injury could mean for his participation in the NCAA Tournament.

Which would obviously be a huge blow to the potential No. 1 overall seed in the Big Dance. Flagg has somehow managed to match or even exceed the hype that followed him to Durham as the top prospect in his class and a seeming shoo-in to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. His roving, all-court defense has been elite since day one, and his offensive game has grown by leaps and bounds over the course of this season. At this point, there's not much of anything he can't do at the college level: He's averaging 1.3 blocks and 1.5 steals per game, and he's up to 48.8 percent shooting from the field and 36.8 percent from deep with a 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

But while Flagg is Duke's engine on both ends of the court, it would be a mistake to count the Blue Devils out — even if the worst comes to pass and he's forced to miss at least the first weekend of Duke's NCAA Tournament run. Because while everyone's focus was on Flagg and his injured ankle, his running mate was showing that he might be ready to pick up the slack.

Kon Knueppel good enough to lead Duke on NCAA Tournament run even without Cooper Flagg

Flagg has understandably gotten most of the attention around Duke this season, but Kon Knueppel hasn't exactly been a slouch. Like Flagg, Knueppel was a five-star recruit in last year's class, No. 18 overall per 247Sports. And he's been one of the best offensive players in the country this season, bar none, flirting with 50-40-90 shooting splits.

Of course, that production was with Flagg drawing lots of eyes away from him. But Knueppel showed in Flagg's absence on Thursday night that he's more than good enough to be Duke's lead dog if it comes to that, pouring in 28 points on just 14 shots to go with eight assists and five rebounds to lead the Blue Devils into the ACC semifinals.

Granted, Knueppel isn't in Flagg's universe as a defender (then again, who is?). But the Blue Devils still boast length and athleticism everywhere, and should profile as a very good defensive team even if Flagg is forced to miss time. If Knueppel is ready to run the show offensively like he did on Thursday night, playing point-forward and making the right reads consistently, then this Duke team is still more than talented enough to make a Final Four run.