Kyle Filipowski credits his game to hard work and a mother's love

Kyle Filipowski walked off the court, another win, another double-double for the final time in his high school career. He shook hands with the opposition and made a bee-line over to his mother for a long embrace.

It has been quite the journey for On3’s No. 1 player in the 2022 class. Count the calendar back twelve months; Filipowski was not even a top-100 ranked player. Despite winning MVP, as a sophomore of the NEPSAC AA playoffs, there was very little buzz surrounding him.

Then COVID hit and Wilbraham (MA) Wilbraham and Monson did not play due to restrictions. Filipowski hit the weights, and he transformed his body. Filipowski finished his sophomore year around 6-foot-9, 200-lbs. He stepped on the EYBL floors in July of 2021 with the NY Rens at a chiseled 6-foot-11, 225-lbs. Already skilled, already accomplished, he was a completely different-looking prospect.

Filipowski went on to dominate the EYBL Session 1. Through eight games and only 20 minutes per game, he averaged 13.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists. The team was seven and one and entered Peach Jam in first place. Then COVID hit again, and through protocols, Filipowski sat for the championship portion of the event.

Filipowski’s gene pool

Kyle Filipowski comes from basketball genes. His mother, Rebecca (Hagerdon) Filipowski, was a Parade All-American after scoring 2,164 career points at Warwick (NY) High School. The 6-foot-4 post player went to Long Beach State, where her team made a run to the Elite 8.

“My mom, Rebecca Hagerdon, has achieved a lot in her basketball career,” Filipowski told On3 after his final high school game. “She was a Parade All-American and went to Long Beach State for college where she made the Elite 8 and put a ton of accolades on the walls with points and rebounds. She ended up having knee injuries and had to have career-ending surgeries.”

After her career was cut short with injuries, Rebecca became a coach. Filipowski says she was his first coach, but she was also tough on him. Not only was she tough on Kyle, but she was also very present. She would drive Kyle and his twin brother Matt to and from games and stay on overnight trips as a team chaperone.

“My mom holds us to high expectations,” Filipowski said. “She has pushed us because she wants the best for us and sees the potential. It has been awesome to see her here, seeing us through it all; she is truly the best mom I could have ever asked for.”

Filipowski’s game

Filipowski is a unique player. Standing 6-foot-11, he plays as his team’s primary initiator for 75-percent of the game. He rebounds the ball and scores at each level, both off the catch and the bounce.

“To put it simply, I am a positionless type of player,” Filipowski said. “The versatility I bring to the court, push the break, knock down the three, rebound, initiate offense with my vision and creation.”

He is the best passing big man in the 2022 class. Filipowski is possibly the best passing big man of the past ten years; he can deliver from the block or off a live dribble. He can throw the paint-touch, no-look dime, or deliver the simple skip pass out of the double team. It is truly a unique talent and separator for a player of his stature.

However, Filipowski feels his toughness separates him from his peers. His competitive nature drives him, “The energy and the grit I bring, I think, separates me. I want to win,” Filipowski said.

Wilbraham and Monson’s head coach Mike Mannix tends to agree with Filipowski. His toughness is something that you do not see often; his grit is a throwback of sorts with the way he competes and never sits out.

“He really competes,” Mannix told On3. “He plays through injury, he has had bumps, bruises, and swelling all season, and he has never said ‘boo’.”

The development didn’t stop

Kyle Filipowski was always skilled. He saw the game differently and played it in a way that many his size couldn’t. It is unheard of for a sophomore to be named MVP of the NEPSAC AA tournament. His 32 point and seven-rebound performance in the 2020 championship game was a game for the ages.

“On the court,” Mannix said. “Three years ago, we saw immediately he had the skill set and size to play a lot of positions. His skill set, at his size, is special.”

Filipowski wanted more, “But it wasn’t all about building up the skillset with training,” Mannix said. “It was also about watching the film, seeing defenses, and reading scouting reports. He dove into all that because it became obvious that teams were going to guard him differently after a couple of weeks. He wanted to study that.”

Filipowski studied the game, and he wanted to get better and improve. That type of dedication, when mixed with a physical build like Filipowski and a natural skill set, that is when things get special. That is when the blue bloods come calling.

Duke

Kyle Filipowski looks like he was molded together and put on this earth to be a Duke Blue Devil on the periphery. Watching him play, he fits the mold of previous Duke forwards like Mark Alarie, Christian Laettner, Danny Ferry, and Chris Burgess. However, Duke was not immediately the choice.

“During the recruiting process,” Filipowski said, “I would make lists of my top ten and stuff every few weeks. It would always change based on my relationships with schools and everything. Duke wasn’t really up there for the beginning of the process for me. So once I got the offer, I was not thinking I was definitely going there.”

It was not until Filipowski went on the visit that he was able to get a sense of the atmosphere and feel the brotherhood that he fell in love.

“The vision I had with coach (Jon) Scheyer was aligned,” Filipowski said. “The atmosphere they have is the best in the country. Their motto is ‘Duke is built for the players, by the players.’ Everything they do is for the betterment of the players.”

Filipowski is the headliner of the nation’s No. 1 overall class. In the six-man class, he joins On3’s No. 3 overall prospect Dereck Lively, No. 4 Dariq Whitehead, No. 10 Mark Mitchell, No. 61 Jaden Schutt, and 7-foot-1 three-star Christian Reaves. One of the big questions of the class would be how Filipowski and Lively would fit playing beside one another.

“I think Dereck (Lively) and I will be the best frontcourt in the country,” Filipowski said. “I know how to play alongside a big who can stretch it out and intertwine high-low combination. He and I have talked about it a lot, and we both know what we are each capable of. I think we will shock the country when we show everyone what we can do.”

The next Duke villain

“I am not against being the next Duke villain,” Filipowski said. “I am there, and I am part of the Duke community, so all I need is that. With the community and guys close to me supporting me, I don’t care what the rest brings. I’m alright with being the next Grayson Allen or JJ Redick; that means I’m doing something right.”

Filipowski after Duke

With the No. 1 ranking comes expectations, professional expectations. Kyle Filipowski is up for that. He has a unique game with some translatable skills to the highest level. Fifteen years ago, NBA teams would look at rebounding as the most translatable skill from level to level. Eight or so years ago, rim protection was what they looked at. Now, NBA teams are looking at passing as the most translatable skill.

With the success of the Golden State Warriors, teams want guys who can shoot, but they also want five guys on the floor who can pass. Being the No. 1 player has not fallen short on Filipowski, but it does not define his journey.

“Seeing that No. 1 by my name meant a lot,” Filipowski said. “To a certain extent, it showed my hard work is starting to pay off. That isn’t the main goal in my mind. I want to win a college championship and get to the league, but to have people recognize me at the highest level, is validation.”

The skill will get him to the league, but the determination and grit are what Mannix thinks will keep him there, “Kyle can be very good. He has such a big upside because of how he sees the game. Kyle has a no-nonsense approach; he really competes. He plays through injury. With his mindset, at the end of the day, Kyle Filipowski will be the one who is still standing.”

This chapter ends

Kyle Filipowski and his twin brother Matt (who has signed to play at Harvard) changed a program’s trajectory. Their legacy will remain, much like their mother’s at Warwick High. However, Filipowski also knows that he would be nowhere without his mother’s sacrifices to help set him up for success.

Kyle Filipowski walked off the court, another win, another double-double for the final time in his high school career. He shook hands with the opposition and made a bee-line over to his mother for a long embrace.

“Walking off the court, I was able to just look at my mom confidently,” Filipowski said. “She knows she can put all her faith in me now and know she has prepared me for all of this.”