Kyle Filipowski recalls what sparked Duke's late-season run

Kyle Filipowski’s freshman season with Duke teetered between a promising young squad and underachieving team for most of the early season. It was head coach John Scheyer’s first year leading the program, and the Blue Devils struggled to resemble the same type of NCAA tournament team as they did the season prior, where they lost in the Final Four. But past the midway point, something changed for Duke; two losses fueled an impressive run into the NCAA championship tournament. And on the Brotherhood Podcast, Filipowski recalled what stoked the flames for that late-season run.

“I don’t really think we needed that Virginia loss to fuel the fire. I think the Miami loss did it plenty enough. Obviously, the Virginia one still added to it, which can’t hurt. But I think we definitely were good as a team, and we understood the mission, (and) what we had to do together in order to have that run. And Virginia, unfortunately, was just one game, one more game we had to wait to start that run. But I think that Miami loss definitely taught us a lot.

Last season, the Duke Blue Devils had a revelation in the second half of the season. Duke was a fringe tournament team up until their back-to-back losses early in February to Miami and Virginia. After those two losses, the light upstairs turned on for the Blue Devils, and they proceeded to finish the year on a nine-game winning streak. That winning streak included three wins in the ACC tournament and one in the NCAA tournament against Oral Roberts.

Filipowski embraces being a ‘hated’ Duke player

Filipowski also revealed, in the interview, his decision to embrace the hate Duke receives from opposing fan bases.

“I’d say I experienced it a little bit this past year. Just hearing a lot of bad talk about me,” said Filipowski on the Brotherhood Podcast. “But that’s what happens when you’re a really good player and playing for a really good team. And I don’t really have an issue with that. I’ve kind of been slept on my whole time. I mean, no one really had me on the radar for the accomplishments I made this year.”

Filipowski says the hate he draws from the opposing team’s fan bases is nothing new. For him, it is something that he has had to deal with before. Even more so, Filipowski knows it’s one of the prime benefits of being a star player in a program that is as prestigious as Duke’s.

The seven-foot sophomore from Westtown, NY, was a solid contributor for the Blue Devils in head coach John Scheyer’s first year heading the program. Filipowski averaged 15.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game for Duke. He had an opportunity to head to the NBA after one season, as a likely first-round selection but decided to return to Duke for at least one more year.