Duke basketball star sets record straight about practice incident
In this story:
Duke basketball power forward Kyle Filipowski, already a seven-time ACC Rookie of the Week with 11 double-doubles and countless clutch moments for the Blue Devils (16-6, 7-4 ACC), has been the team's best player. There's no denying that.
But there was a time in the summer when the outlook wasn't so rosy for the former five-star recruit out of Wilbraham & Monson Academy (Mass.) after arriving in Durham with giant expectations at No. 4 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite. Talk of the 7-footer's struggles at the time was no secret.
And one rumor circulated recently about first-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer supposedly having to kick him out of a summer practice drill. That's not quite what happened, though, according to Filipowski.
"Just to set the record straight, we were doing this drill, and I wasn't putting in my full amount of effort," the 19-year-old admitted at Thursday's press conference. "And [Scheyer] got on me about it. But he didn't tell me to get out. I was just overwhelmed. And so I actually left myself because I just needed to blow off some steam.
"But that was because [Scheyer] and some of the guys were on me on the drill because I wasn't putting in the effort I should have been."
Looking back, Kyle Filipowski seems grateful for that incident because it helped him grow closer to his Duke basketball family.
"Just from the summer to where I'm at now and the strides I've made, that's all because of my coaches and my teammates," Filipowski said. "If they hadn't been on me since Day One, I wouldn't be where I am now — just with the confidence they've had in me, for always believing in me, and just all of us starting to become a family too...
"I'm going to repay the favor by going out there every game and diving on the ball for a loose ball, always putting in my effort."
Junior captain Jeremy Roach appears impressed with Filipowski's development and buy-in.
"He's been a sponge," Roach said while sitting next to Filipowski at the presser. "Obviously, I came in on that high from the Final Four [loss to UNC], so I was on his case early, for sure. But I just wanted him to be great...I knew what he was capable of; I watched him in high school...
"Coming into the summer, I knew he had to put in that work because I knew guys were going to come at him."
Kyle Filipowski, Jeremy Roach, and the Blue Devils are now gearing up to host their archrival UNC Tar Heels (15-7, 7-4 ACC) at 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday, looking to avenge the loss that ended Mike Krzyzewski's legendary Duke basketball career.
RELATED: Dariq Whitehead's status ahead of Duke-UNC game
Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country for daily Duke basketball content.
