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Charles Lee amped up after the Hornets' selection of Kon Knueppel

The Charlotte Hornets selected Kon Knueppel out of Duke with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 draft.
Ashley Stroehlein|
Hornets head coach Charles Lee joins Hornets draft party via Zoom
Hornets head coach Charles Lee joins Hornets draft party via Zoom | Ashley Stroehlein

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Charlotte Hornets

Shortly after the Charlotte Hornets selected Duke's Kon Knueppel with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 draft head coach Charless Lee joined the team's draft party to share his excitement over the latest member of his team.

“He’s an amazing human being," Lee said. "He fits our culture that we continue to build here. A lot of times on our team, we talk about consistent competitors, we talk about being obsessed with daily improvement and that's what Kon’s about.”

Knueppel's decision to play collegiate basketball at Duke was another thing that stood out to Lee: "He took on the challenge to want to go to Duke and be on the biggest stage and play in some of the biggest pressure situations."

From his shooting ability to his basketball knowledge, Lee is hoping Knueppel is able to greatly impact the team and bring instant competition. "He just carries himself so well. I'm looking forward to having him compete with our team, looking forward to seeing him shoot. I think he brings instant spacing to our team. He's one of the best shooters in the draft, one of the highest basketball IQ guys and one of the best competieors too. We're really looking forward for a lot of reasons," Lee explained.

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Ashley Stroehlein
ASHLEY STROEHLEIN

Ashley Stroehlein is a sports reporter who is based in Charlotte, NC, and has covered multiple professional and collegiate sports ranging from the NBA, NFL, MLS, ACC, SEC and more. Stroehlein currently contributes to Charlotte Hornets On SI, ESPN’s coverage of college football as a sideline reporter, serves as a freelance host on SiriusXM’s NBA and NASCAR Radio channels and as a fill-in host and sideline reporter for FanDuel Sports Network’s coverage of the Charlotte Hornets. Ashley graduated with honors from Radford University, majoring in mathematics. She moved to North Carolina to teach secondary math and coach basketball and track. However, her passion for sports led her to decide to return to school to study broadcasting. Ashley’s work as an anchor and storyteller has earned her many industry honors. Most notably, she is a three-time recipient of the prestigious Gracie Award, which recognizes exemplary programming created by, for and about women in all facets of media and entertainment.

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