Family Affair: Milwaukee's Wisconsin Lutheran targets second-straight title amidst new division

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The 2023-24 high school basketball season was a year of perfection for Wisconsin Lutheran, which culminated with an undefeated 30-0 record and Division 2 State Championship.

However, this season they’re chasing history.

“There's been a couple of teams that have gone 30-0, but nobody has won at the Division 2 and at the Division 1 level as far as I know, and then to do it back to back," Vikings head coach Ryan Walz explained.

After winning last year's championship, the Vikings were moved up to the Division 1 level.

While the jump in divisions may have initially lowered expectations for this year's Wisconsin Lutheran squad (26-2), the Vikings say it added fuel to the fire.

After defeating West Allis Central 72-53 in the Sectional Final, the Vikings garnered the No. 1 overall seed in this year's WIAA State Boys Basketball Tournament.

“Everyone thought we weren't going to be as great as we thought we could have been, so we had a lot to prove in the beginning of the year," junior small forward Zavier Zens shared. "Obviously we proved it, and we got to stay true to our word and keep it going.”

With Kon Knueppel now a Duke Blue Devil, the Vikings had to piece together a new winning recipe.

“Losing Kon last year was a big deal for not only what people saw us as but for ourselves, just because he did so much for us," Walz explained. "What I've learned about these guys is number one, they are super competitive and their drive and their will to want to win is at a high level.”

Watch: Family Affair: Wisconsin Lutheran target second straight title amidst new division

The biggest need this season was having two of their younger stars step into more of a play-maker role: junior small forward Zavier Zens and sophomore small forward Kager Knueppel.

After averaging just 9.9 points per game during the 2023-24 season, Zens took over as the Vikings' leading scorer this year (22.3). Through 28 games, the junior is shooting 67.7% from the floor and 52% from three. He is also the team's second-leading rebounder (6.2).

Kager Knueppel, Kon's younger brother, also saw an impressive jump in stats. He leads the team in rebounding (6.6) and is second in scoring (13.7).

That also meant some of their young stars needed to step into the player-maker role with both Zavier and Kager taking their game to new heights.

“Last year I was more of just a shooter and if I got it open over by the hoop I'd go up with it, but now I try to get to the hoop and obviously run more plays for me that helps me get open and my teammates do a great job of finding me," Zens explained.

This year's connectivity didn't take much effort to build with three of the team's players related.

Along with two more Knueppels on this year’s roster (Kager and Kinston), Zens is also their cousin.

“After winning it last year with my brother, that was really fun," sophomore small forward Kager Knueppel said. "And then this year with my cousin and my other brother, that'd be really cool.”

As the Vikings vy for a two-peat, Kon Knueppel is hoping to do the same with the Duke Blue Devils who are one of four No. 1 seeds in this year's NCAA Tournament.

“If you know anything about Kon, you know that he's a win-first guy and so the most important thing for him is to win that championship," Walz expressed. "As he plays the game of basketball, he's not about the accolades and like the MVP – he could care less about that – he just wants to win and that's how he plays the game and I think a lot of that has rubbed off on our guys.”

(1) Duke plays the winner of (16) American/Mount St. Mary's on Friday at 1:50 p.m. in Raleigh, NC for the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.

(1) Wisconsin Lutheran plays (4) Oshkosh North (19-9) this Friday in the Division 1 semifinals at the Kohl Center. Tip is set for 6:35 p.m.

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