Duke’s basketball team opened conference play with an impressive victory.
Is there anything Duke basketball freshman Kyle Filipowski isn’t capable of doing?
The starting forward for the Blue Devils has shown no signs of slowing down as he is recording 15.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists on the season and Filipowski has proven to be a key player on both ends of the floor.
In No. 17 Duke (9-2) meeting against Oregon State in the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament, Filipowski had 19 points and 14 rebounds in 31 minutes of play while playing all over the court, offensively and defensively.
As Duke progressed, the Willbraham & Monson product showed no signs of slowing down.
The Blue Devils would defeat Xavier the day after their win over Oregon State and Filipowski had 12 points and four rebounds.
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For the first time in five straight games, Filipowski was not the leading scorer as Duke captain Jeremy Roach led the team with 21 points.
When Duke fell short to then-No. 24 Purdue in the championship game, Filipowski snapped his streak of consecutive double-doubles. While he continued to score 14 points and shoot 5-for-11 from the field, he managed only five rebounds against the Boilermakers’ talented front line.
Duke returned home to add a win against No. 25 Ohio State to his resume and the forward was able to add 16 points and five rebounds.
Finally, in his conference debut against Boston College (5-4), Filipowski notched his fifth double-double of the season by scoring 13 points and adding 10 rebounds to his stat line.
However, Mark Mitchell led the team in scoring with 15 points while shooting 6-for-7 from the field in the 75-59 victory.
Duke basketball forward grabs headlines after quiet preseason
Heading into the season, most of the attention was focused on center Derek Lively II and forward Dariq Whitehead.
While both stars are coming off injuries, it seems like they haven’t reached their full potential yet.
Kyle Filipowski was ranked the No. 7 prospect in the Class of 2022, according to ESPN.com, but has continually outperformed Lively and Whitehead, who are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.
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As Duke prepares to face tougher matchups as the season progresses, upcoming opponents will likely have to come up with a defensive strategy that minimizes Filipowski’s opportunities near the rim.
Most of his scoring comes from layups and dunks in the paint, which makes sense for someone his size.
Standing at 7-foot, Filipowski has also proven to be a threat on the perimeter as his movement and ball handling have been impressive for someone this size, and from what we’ve seen so far, Kyle Filipowski could have tremendous potential in the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft.