No. 8 Duke suffered an unexpected 83-79 defeat on the road against Wake Forest on Saturday, with standout player Kyle Filipowski sustaining an injury amidst the ensuing chaos.
Following the conclusion of the game at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, fans flooded the court in jubilation. As Filipowski, a highly touted NBA Draft prospect, was leaving the court, a fan ran into his path, leading to what appeared to be an injury amid the commotion. Teammates and staff swiftly assisted him off the court and into the locker room.
Expressing his concern, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer urged for a reconsideration of court-storming practices during his post-game remarks.
“Flip sprains his ankle,” he stated. “When are we going to ban court stormings?”
Filipowski later clarified that it was his knee that was injured, which is evident in footage where he is seen grabbing it amidst the chaos. He also seemed to attempt to push the fan away. The sophomore’s future playing status remains uncertain.
ESPN just showed a new angle of the court-storming at Wake Forest where Duke's Kyle Filipowski was injured. Can clearly see where he hurts his knee as a fan taunts him while racing to midcourt. Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/ABAsKC2kTI
— Kyle Boone (@kyletheboone) February 24, 2024
Addressing the incident, Filipowski condemned the reckless behavior and expressed feeling targeted during the chaos.
“There’s some videos of me getting punched in the back. I absolutely feel like it was personal, intentional for sure,” he said. “There’s no reason they see a big guy like me trying to work my way off the court and they can’t just move around me. There’s no excuse for that.”
Filipowski had a strong performance during the game, contributing 17 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
Scheyer highlighted the danger of such actions by fans, mentioning previous incidents this season and referencing a recent occurrence involving Iowa’s Caitlin Clark colliding with a court-storming fan.
Saturday’s closely contested match featured 14 ties and 14 lead changes. Wake Forest’s Hunter Sallis led his team to victory with 29 points, ending Duke’s five-game winning streak.
Acknowledging Wake Forest’s achievement, Scheyer stressed the need for improvement from his team and emphasized the necessity of preventing such incidents.
Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes and athletic director John Currie also expressed regret over the court-storming and acknowledged the need for better management of such situations in the future.
Court-storming has been a tradition in college basketball, but incidents like this have raised concerns. The ACC reportedly doesn’t sanction court-stormings, but discussions about potential changes may arise following such incidents.
