Duke star Kyle Filipowski suffered a knee injury when fans at LJVM Coliseum stormed the hardwood following the Blue Devils' 83-79 road loss Saturday to Wake Forest, head coach Jon Scheyer confirmed, according to CBS Sports' Matt Norlander.
Filipowski was at center court when a rush of people collided with him. The 7-foot center needed help from the Blue Devils' staff as he hobbled to exit the playing area.
Duke F Kyle Filipowski had to be helped off the court as Wake Forest celebrated. pic.twitter.com/vytmK6AJAx
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 24, 2024
"I'm disappointed we lost. But look, for me, I'm more concerned about the well-being of our guys ... When are we going to ban court storming? When are we going to ban that?" Scheyer told reporters postgame, including Will Dalton of The Josh Graham Show.
"How many times does a player have to get into something where they get punched, or they get pushed, or they get taunted ... in their face? And it's a dangerous thing."
Filipowski said he believes the incident was intentional. An alternate angle of the court storm shows a fan saying something to Filipowski before the pair collide and another fan appears to shove the Blue Devils player in the back as he tries to stay on his feet.
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
"I absolutely feel like it was personal ... intentional for sure," Filipowski said, according to Brian Hall of WFMY News 2.
He added: "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 around me. There's no excuse for that."
Demon Deacons head coach Steve Forbes expressed his best wishes for Filipowski following the win.
"I didn't see what happened at the end. I hope he's OK," Forbes said, per Dalton. "I don't like court strormings. I never have. I've been a part of those before as a coach. I just don't feel safe."
Wake Forest athletics director John Currie also commented on the matter, saying the school "sincerely" regrets 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 added. "I am in complete agreement that something more must be done about the national phenomenon of court and field storming, and Wake Forest looks forward to being a part of those conversations."
Court storming made headlines earlier this season when a fan bumped into Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark as she headed toward the locker room. Fortunately, Clark came away from the situation unscathed.
Filipowski entered Saturday's tilt averaging 16.9 points, 8.2 boards, and 1.7 blocks over 26 appearances. He leads the Blue Devils in all three categories.
Filipowski returned for his sophomore year after testing the draft waters last season. The reigning ACC Rookie of the Year is a projected lottery pick this summer.
