Duke's Kyle Filipowski Talks UNC Trip, Court Storming, March Madness in B/R Interview

Kyle Filipowski knows you've seen the play where he tripped North Carolina's Harrison Ingram.

And he knows you have an opinion about it.

But the Duke big man, who already told reporters it was unintentional, did what he could in the aftermath of his team's 84-79 loss on Saturday.

"Everyone has their own opinion about what happened," Filipowski told Bleacher Report. "But I reached out to Harrison after the game and made sure he was alright. It wasn't intentional at all, and I wanted to make sure he was safe and healthy. I've been in situations like that before where something not intentional has happened to me, like getting punched in the throat or elbowed in the face. I just wanted to make sure that he was alright, which he is."

The play overshadowed North Carolina completing the season sweep of its rivals despite Filipowski's 23 points. Cormac Ryan exploded for 31 points for the victors, and the Tar Heels then taunted the "Cameron Crazies"—who responded by throwing water and empty plastic bottles at them—after the win.

Bragging rights in college basketball's most notable rivalry currently belong to UNC following two straight wins this season, but Duke might have the chance at ultimate revenge.

The Blue Devils are the No. 2 seed in the ACC tournament behind only the top-seeded Tar Heels. While both sides have to win two games each to reach the championship game, it is difficult not to envision another rivalry showdown with the title on the line.

"This year was the exact opposite of last year with beating them twice and now they beat us twice," Filipowski said. "Having another opportunity at them would be a great thing to have from our position. But that's not really the focus of the ACC tournament. The focus is winning it. No matter who we play, we're thinking about beating them. That's all that matters."

Duke seasons are judged in part by the ability to defeat its archrival, so a win would surely be validating heading into March Madness.

But Filipowski was excellent throughout his sophomore campaign even without a win over UNC and averaged 16.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 50.4 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from deep.

He was more effective extending his game beyond the arc than he was as a freshman, and he remains a double-double threat every time he steps on the floor with the ability to both control the glass and score on the blocks.

Filipowski was recognized as a member of the All-ACC first team as a result and finished second behind North Carolina's RJ Davis for the ACC Player of the Year.

"It's a great honor," he said when discussing being named all-conference. "I've been putting in a lot of work this year. And seeing that pay off is great. A goal of mine, too, was to win ACC Player of the Year, and I came up just short. Credit to RJ Davis, he's had a crazy-good season. He really did deserve that. But it adds a little bit more fuel to the fire for me going into March. Just trying to show everyone that I'm just as good."

A dominant sophomore season brings more than just All-ACC honors.

Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projected Filipowski as the No. 9 overall pick in his most recent mock draft, highlighting the Duke star's "versatility—a specific combination of shooting, passing, physical finishing and switchable defense that separates him from most 7-footers and can give a frontcourt a different feel or advantage."

Still, Filipowski is doing his best to compartmentalize the NBA hype by focusing on the opportunity to win a championship.

"It's hard to try to not pay that much attention to it when you see your name on there and hear all this buzz," he said. "But it is just buzz. You don't know for sure what's going to happen when the season is over.

"I'm 100 percent just focused on the postseason and winning the ACC tournament and March Madness with my team and my guys. That's been a dream of mine forever. Just putting all my energy and focus on that, and the only thing that will come out of that is good. Whenever the season ends, I'll turn my focus to my decision about what I'll be doing after this year."

With his focus on the tournament, Filipowski fittingly partnered with Great Clips for its "Wrights & Wrongs" March Madness campaign that also features two-time national championship-winning coach Jay Wright.

In addition to informing fans the "wright" and "wrong" way to enjoy the Big Dance, Great Clips is also offering fans the opportunity to win a trip to the 2025 men's or women's Final Four with a prize that includes tickets, round-trip airfare and a four-night hotel stay.

"It's been a great partnership with them, and they're keeping my hair nice and clean looking," he said. "The first dream I ever had was to win a national championship, so being able to partner with them and being able to sign up in their app with the chance to win tickets to go to the 2025 Final Four is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The national championship is a dream of mine, so our values align there. So being able to do that is a great opportunity."

Part of the Great Clips campaign involved Filipowski filming a This or That video in which he chose between two different options in different categories, including whether fans should cheer from the stands or storm the court.

It was a clear tongue-in-cheek reference to Duke's 83-79 loss to Wake Forest on Feb. 24 in which Demon Deacons fans stormed the court after their team snapped the Blue Devils' five-game winning streak.

A fan made contact with Filipowski, who was helped off the court in an incident that sparked plenty of debate about the practice of fans storming the floor after a monumental win or upset in college basketball.

Fortunately for Duke, he didn't miss any time and played 29 minutes in its victory over Louisville just four days later.

"Luckily, the situation didn't turn out worse than what happened," he said. "Obviously, if it did I wouldn't be trying to move on like I have. But now knowing that, luckily, I'm OK and every one of my teammates is alright too, you can't not have some fun with it of course. It's such a unique situation. Doing that with Great Clips was a perfect opportunity to just let it loose a little bit."

Filipowski surely won't have to worry about fans storming the floor at neutral sites during March Madness, where the Blue Devils are projected to land on the No. 3 line in various bracket predictions.

This will be his second trip to the tournament after Duke lost to Tennessee in the second round last year as a No. 5 seed. Ideally for the big man and his teammates, a better seed will lead to a more favorable path to the program's sixth national championship and 18th Final Four appearance.

"I think a lot of people have sales pitches for why not to choose us," he said while laughing when asked to explain why the Blue Devils can advance deep into the tournament.

"But for me, I think our chemistry and our cohesiveness, that's the most important thing come March. Especially with having a chip on your shoulder and playing with that fire every game because there can be great teams in the tournament that still lose when the other team has more passion than them. Having that passion, having that energy, but also playing together. I think that's the most important thing for the tournament, and we have that."

That passion could end up cementing Filipowski's Duke legacy with a national title.

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