Kyle Filipowski on injury during court-storming: 'I absolutely feel like it was personal'
As the postgame celebration unfolded following Wake Forest’s upset victory over Duke on Saturday, Kyle Filipowski found himself in the middle of it. He needed help getting off the court as fans came down from the stands following the Demon Deacons’ 83-79 victory over the Blue Devils, and Jon Scheyer initially said he suffered an ankle sprain.
During an interview with WFMY-TV afterward, Filipowski said he thought the injury happened on purpose.
“I’ve already heard that there’s some videos of getting punched in the back,” Filipowski said. “So I absolutely feel like it was personal, intentional, for sure. There’s no reason where they see a big guy like me trying to work my way off the court and they can’t just work their way around me. There’s no excuse for that.”
Filipowski – a projected first-round pick – is the latest big-name player to get hurt during a court storming. Last month, Iowa star Caitlin Clark ran into an Ohio State fan after the Buckeyes defeated the Hawkeyes in Columbus. Although she ended up alright, conversations started about preventing those situations.
Scheyer called on a ban on court-storming in light of Saturday’s situation, and Filipowski said he wasn’t happy with how everything unfolded.
“I felt a bunch of hits on my body. This one was the worst of them,” Filipowski said. “It’s just really ridiculous of how that situation’s handled.”
Duke’s Jon Scheyer after Kyle Filipowski injury: ‘When are we going to ban court storming?’
Scheyer also called for a change in college basketball and potentially getting rid of storming the court. Even back when he was a player, there was adequate time for opposing players, coaches, and staff so safely retreat to the locker room before fans could celebrate.
“Disappointed we lost,” Scheyer said. “But look, for me, I’m more concerned about the well-being of our guys. Flip sprains his ankle. When are we going to ban court storming? When are we going to ban that? How many times does a player have to get into something where they get punched or they get pushed or they get taunted right in their face? It’s a dangerous thing.
“I don’t want that to take away from the game that Wake played because Wake played a big-time game… When I played, at least it was 10 seconds and then you could storm the court. Now, it’s the buzzer doesn’t even go off and they’re running off the floor.”