Court storming causes injury to Duke centre

Duke coach Jon Scheyer said star centre Kyle Filipowski injured his knee Saturday amid the commotion of Wake Forest fans storming the court following the Demon Deacons' 83-79 upset of the No. 8 Blue Devils in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Video showed a fan colliding with Filipowski as the crowd rushed toward midcourt and the 7-foot centre walked off the floor. Filipowski, who led Duke with 17 points and eight rebounds, had to be helped off the court.

“When are we going to ban court storming?” Scheyer said after the game. “When are we going to ban that? How many times does a player have to get into something where they get punched or they get pushed or they get taunted right in their face? It's a dangerous thing.”

“I absolutely feel like it was personal, intentional for sure,” Filipowski told WFMY News. “There's no reason where they see a big guy like me trying to work my way up the court and they can't just work around me.”

Duke staffers helped Filipowski off the floor through the tunnel to the locker room.

“This gotta change,” he tweeted after the game.

Court storming and its safety risks have drawn greater attention since Iowa star Caitlin Clark said she was “blindsided” in a collision with an Ohio State fan last month after the Hawkeyes' upset loss to the Buckeyes. Clark later told reporters she was OK but that the fall knocked the wind out of her.

Scheyer referenced Clark in his comments, saying: “You look around the country. Caitlin Clark, something happens, and now (Filipowski). I don't know what his status is going to be. ... When I played, at least it was 10 seconds (before) you would storm the court. Now, the buzzer doesn't even go off and they're running on the floor.”

Scheyer initially described Filipowski's injury as a sprained ankle but later clarified to CBS Sports that the centre injured his knee.

After several court storms in late January, ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas said: “Fans do not belong on the court — ever, ever. And players do not belong in the stands.”

Filipowski was a projected firstround pick before deciding to return for his sophomore year. He leads the Blue Devils in points, rebounds and blocks this season.