Kyle Filipowski is the new villain of Duke basketball whether he likes it or not. And he doesn’t like it.
The Blue Devils’ seven-footer is a self-proclaimed teddy bear.
Filipowski, a sophomore, is averaging a team-high 16.7 points and eight rebounds with 2.8 assists, 1.6 blocks and a steal in 30.3 minutes per game. It is impossible to discredit his on-court talent.
However, Duke’s star center has been involved in a lot of controversy over the last 20 days or so.
Despite everything that has gone down, Filipowski doesn’t want to be seen in such a negative light because “once you get to know him, he’s a really nice guy.”
Kyle Filipowski doesn’t want to be a typical Duke villain pic.twitter.com/mSOJCGU4OG
— OSP (@oneshiningpod) March 12, 2024
He should know by now that actions speak louder than words!
Filipowski had to be carried into the locker room by his teammates after suffering an injury while Wake Forest students stormed the court. Head coach Jon Scheyer called for an immediate ban of court storms. Jay Bilas called for every person who participates in a court storm to be arrested. An exhausting dialogue about court storms dominated sports media for more than a week.
But Kyle Filipowski was fine.
His ankle-turned-knee injury was just “soreness” and he did not miss any time. Not even one practice.
That incident was the first time that college basketball fans began to dislike him for a reason other than simply being the best player on a team that nobody likes. Filipowski was a solidified villain in that moment.
To make matters worse, he pretty clearly tripped a North Carolina player during their final meeting of the regular season and proceeded to limp off of the court as if he was the victim. Filipowski later wrote it off as an accident.
Intentional or not, the trip did not help his villainous image— which began on the day that he signed with the program. That’s just how it works. Kyle Filipowski knew what he was signing up for!