Jon Scheyer says Kyle Filipowski is great after surgery
Kyle Filipowski had hip surgery earlier this offseason after his freshman season at Duke. Now, the reigning ACC Rookie of the Year is well on his way back on his return to the court for the Blue Devils.
Jon Scheyer updated Filipowski’s rehab during a press conference on Wednesday. He said that his seven-foot sophomore is doing well and that the goal is to now get him back up to speed when it comes to playing on the floor with others.
“Kyle is doing great,” Scheyer said. “He has started to do some one-on-one, hopefully he can progress to some two-on-two, three-on-three in the next couple of weeks and get him back playing five-on-five. But, really, there’s no limitations other than just progressing him where he can play five-on-five here in the next few weeks.”
Filipowski averaged 15.1 points and 8.9 rebounds as the Duke’s leader in both categories last season. He did so on a squad that went 27-9 and reached the Round of 32 in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
Scheyer is just dying for his team to be fully together after dealing with injuries all of his first season as head coach and now into his second offseason in Durham. Still, he might not have to wait too much longer as Filipowski continues to progress in the right direction.
“I want to see our whole team together. I think this will happen earlier but we’re definitely excited to get him back out there,” said Scheyer.
Filipowski downplays the impact money had on decision to return
It’s no longer surprising to see a former five-star recruit opting to return to college for their sophomore season thanks to NIL.
Duke star Kyle Filipowski says it certainly played a role — but it wasn’t what brought him back to Durham.
“Obviously, the NIL is really nice. It’s a really big incentive for you to want to stay in college longer,” Filipowski said via The Botherhood Podcast. “It encourages you to get your degree and it will keep the college game around a lot longer than guys wanting to turn pro as soon as they can.
“It’s definetely a big benefit for sure, but I didn’t think much about the NIL being a factor.”
All signs pointed toward Filipowski heading to the pros. After all, he was projected to be a first-round draft choice and came in with all the hype behind him, joining the Brotherhood as a five-star recruit in 2022 as well as the No. 5 prospect and No. 1 power forward.
Instead of joining his buddies in the league, though, the 7-foot sophomore welcomes in Duke’s 2023 recruiting class, which ranked No. 2 overall in this year’s cycle.