No. 8 Duke fell to Wake Forest, 83-79, on Saturday. But the bigger news might be what happened after the game.
Demon Deacons fans stormed the court in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to celebrate the upset. During the excitement, Blue Devils star center Kyle Filipowski appeared to injure be injured after a fan collided with him at midcourt.
The NBA prospect had to be helped off the court after the incident.
DOWN GOES NO. 8 🚨
It’s storming at @WakeMBB after beating Duke ⛈️
🎥: @espn pic.twitter.com/0mRqhzMsKE
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) February 24, 2024
Already in 2024, this marks the second time a star basketball player collided with a fan during a court storming.
Following Ohio State’s win over Iowa in women’s basketball, phenom Caitlin Clark and an Ohio State fan crashed into each other. Clark hurried back to the tunnel, saying later the incident knocked the wind out of her.
DeCOURCY: Clark collision another example why allowing court storms isn’t worth the risk
Duke coach Jon Scheyer took aim at court storming after Saturday’s game. While the former Blue Devils star, who saw his share of such celebrations as a player, said he did not want it to take away from Wake Forest’s performance, he joined a wave of critics calling on the practice to be banned.
‘When are we going to ban court storming? When are we going to ban that?” Scheyer said. “How many times does a player have to get into something where if they get punched or if they get pushed or they get taunted in their face?
“It’s a dangerous thing. You look around the country and Caitlin Clark something happens, now Flip.”
Here’s the latest news on Filipowski’s injury.
Kyle Filipowski injury update
Filipowski sprained his ankle during the court-storming incident, Scheyer said after the game. The 20-year-old’s status for upcoming games was not immediately known following the injury, Scheyer said.
Video of the incident appears to show Filipowski trying to clear his way to the sideline as fans continued to rush into him, including one fan who seems to reach an arm toward the Duke player and make contact with Filipowski’s back.
Here’s the overhead angle of the Kyle Filipowski court storming collision. pic.twitter.com/qEwG2zOPM2
— CBB Content (@CBBcontent) February 24, 2024
Duke is no stranger to court stormings, which often take place when the blue-blood Blue Devils are upset on the road. Filipowski described Saturday’s as “the worst of them” and said he felt “a bunch of hits on my body.” He also felt there was some intention by the fans to make contact with him, he said.
“I’ve already heard that there’s some videos of getting punched in the back and so I absolutely feel like it was personal, intentional for sure,” Filipowski said, per WFMY’s Brian Hall. “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.”
Court-storming controversy
High-profile names in college basketball have taken a stand against court storming in recent years. Such celebrations have led to player injuries several times, and there have been calls to limit the celebration or ban it entirely as a matter of player safety.
Following Clark’s collision, ESPN’s Jay Bilas said that “fans do not belong the court ever” as he explained the risks of the practice.
“When somebody gets hurt, we’re going to get serious about it,” Bilas said. “When was the last time you saw a field storming in an NFL game? The NBA? Major League Baseball? They don’t do it. They protect the players and we don’t do it in college.”
On Saturday, Filipowski got hurt. And Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes was among those who made it clear he did not support the situation.
“I don’t like court stormings. Never have. I’ve been a part of those before as a coach, just don’t feel safe,” Forbes said. “And I’m sure the next time that happens, we’ll do a better job of taking care of that situation.”
As the storming was going on, ESPN’s Chris Spatola said the Filipowski injury is “why court storming should not happen.”
