Duke basketball’s Kyle Filipowski just got injured on the court … not during the game, mind you — but by overzealous fans storming the venue postgame.
Duke — ranked eighth in the country — just lost 83-79 in a nail-biter match against unranked Wake Forest, a huge upset that could have major conference championship implications.
Duke and projected top 10 NBA Draft pick, Kyle Filipowski is helped to the locker room after Wake Forest fans stormed the court.
(via @JordanDajani) pic.twitter.com/yenUanZv8K
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 24, 2024
@YahooSports
As students of the winning side tend to do after a big win, hundreds of excited college kids rushed the court and they appear to have injured the projected top-10 overall pick.
From far away, it was unclear exactly what happened, though Kyle looked to be in considerable pain … but ESPN had the overhead view of the incident, and it’s painful to watch.
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
@kyletheboone
It seems one fan ran right into Kyle’s leg, bending it the wrong way and apparently spraining his ankle — all while talking trash to the basketball phenom instead of paying attention to where he was running.
Filipowski nearly collapses, doubled over by the collision before hobbling toward his teammates who supported his weight — basically, dragging him to the locker room.
Obviously, Kyle’s squad was incensed after the game with his coach Jon Scheyer openly questioning when the NCAA was going to ban courtstorming.
“I absolutely feel like it was personal, intentional for sure.”
Kyle Filipowski on getting injured during Wake Forest court storm.
(via @bhallwfmy) pic.twitter.com/XDkpwJMc1E
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 24, 2024
@YahooSports
Kyle also opened up about the incident after the game … and he says he thinks the fan hit him on purpose, trying to injure him.
A major injury right now could seriously affect Kyle’s future livelihood BTW … ’cause NBA.com just ranked him as the projected 9th overall pick in this year’s draft — meaning an astronomical payday.
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All of that could be in jeopardy now … ’cause some irresponsible fans couldn’t stay in their damn seats.