Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer provides latest update on Filipowski, Foster injuries
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Filipowski injury heightens concerns over court storming
Blue Devils star forward Kyle Filipowski’s was injured Feb. 24, after Wake Forest students ran into him following the Demon Deacons’ 83-79 win over No. 8 Duke. The incident has heightened concerns over court storming in college basketball. Here is The News & Observer’s latest coverage.
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Duke star forward Kyle Filipowski’s availability for the Blue Devils’ next game remains uncertain, with head coach Jon Scheyer saying Monday the full extent of the apparent knee injury that occurred during a court-storming incident after a loss to Wake Forest on Saturday is unclear.
Scheyer confirmed Monday that Filipowski has not yet undergone medical imaging on his knee.
“I’m not sure if he’s able to practice yet,” Scheyer said Monday. “I know he was still a little bit sore yesterday. And so I’ll know better later today at practice.”
Scheyer also gave an update on freshman guard Caleb Foster, who suffered a foot injury during the game and missed the final 15 minutes. Foster did have medical imaging tests that the medical team did not feel Filipowski needed.
“We’re still waiting for some results and to get our medical team together to take a look at him,” Scheyer said of Foster. “We’ll know more hopefully that later today.”
Duke’s next game is Wednesday against Louisville at 7 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke’s scoring and rebounding leader this season, the 7-foot Filipowski was injured when he was unable to exit the court before thousands of Wake Forest fans rushed the floor following the Demon Deacons’ win Saturday at Joel Coliseum.
One spectator running toward the middle of the court collided with Filipowski, sending him spinning as other students also rushed by. Video shows another fan reach out with his left arm and make contact with Filipowski, with the specator’s hand hitting Filipowski between the numerals on the back of his Duke uniform.
In post-game comments on Saturday, Filipowski said the contact was “intentional.”
“I absolutely feel like it was personal,” Filipowski said in the postgame news conference. “Intentional, for sure. There’s no reason where they see a big guy like me trying to work my way off the court that they can’t just work around you. There’s no excuse for that.”
Scheyer called for an end to court-storming due to its dangerous nature.
“Who in their right mind sees that and says, ‘Yeah, that’s smart,’” Scheyer said. “It’s dangerous. And, in what other sport does that happen? I don’t even think, what, did the buzzer go off and all of the sudden fans are at half court.”
Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes agreed, saying, “I don’t like court stormings.”
“Next time we’re going to have to do a better job of taking care of that situation,” Forbes said.
Wake Forest athletics director John Currie spoke with Duke athletics director Nina King on Saturday as well as ACC men’s basketball administrator Paul Brazeau. Currie released a statement of regret for “the unfortunate on-court incident.”
“Although our event management staff and security had rehearsed postgame procedures to protect the visiting team and officials, we clearly must do better,” Currie said in a statement.
Scheyer said Monday he’s had follow-up conversations with Duke athletics director Nina King, who also said Saturday this is a serious player safety issue.
Scheyer wants the ACC to take action to protect players immediately.
“Nina and I have been in close touch,” Scheyer said. “She’s been in close touch with the ACC. And you know, the ACC needs to do something. Something has to be done to protect our guys. Not just our guys, but any team that’s in that situation.”
In addition to Filipowski’s injury, Scheyer pointed to the Wake Forest fans who confronted Duke freshman guard Jared McCain and sophomore Mark Mitchell on the court after the game.
“There’s a ton of attention on Flip,” Scheyer said. “But if you go back and watch Jared McCain, there’s a student face to face with him. It’s a dangerous situation. Mark, the same thing.”
This story was originally published February 26, 2024 at 11:10 AM with the headline "Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer provides latest update on Filipowski, Foster injuries."
