Duke is holding its breath right now.
The Blue Devils were upset, 83-79, on Saturday afternoon at Wake Forest, but it’s what happened after the loss that is of more of a concern as forward Kyle Filipowski had to be helped out off the court with an ankle injury after fans rushed the floor.
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With Duke down by four points in the final seconds of the game, it tried a long on-bounds heave, but to no avail, and the Demon Deacons won a thrilling win, and fans at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum were so excited that they stormed onto the court.
But as they rushed to the floor, Filipowski appeared to get run into and started limping, and teammates and coaches rushed to help him get off the floor.
The ESPN cameras also caught Filipowski getting helped down the tunnel and into the locker room.
“That should not happen. That right there is why court-storming should not happen,” ESPN analyst Chris Spatola said as the game ended.
After the game, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said the star player sprained his ankle and pushed for a ban on court-storming, citing other incidents like the one Iowa star Caitlin Clark was involved in earlier this year with a fan.
“I’m more concerned about the wellbeing of our guys. Flip sprains his ankle,” the coach said after the game.
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“When are we gonna ban court storming? When are we going to ban that? How many times does a player have to get into something where they get punched or they get pushed or they get taunted right in their face?
“It’s a dangerous thing.”
Speaking with reporters after the game, Filipowski said he believes what happened was “intentional.”
“I felt a bunch of hits on my body, this one was the worst of them,” the star said after the game, per WFMY.
“It’s really ridiculous of how that situation is handled.
“I absolutely feel like it was personal, intentional for sure. … There’s no excuse for that.”
Filipowski, a sophomore, is a projected lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Coming into the afternoon, he’d averaged 16.9 points — on 50.2 per cent shooting from the field — with 8.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
He scored 17 points with eight rebounds and five assists in Saturday’s loss.
This story originally appeared on the New York Post and has been reposted with permission
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