Duke basketball: Kyle Filipowski continues to impress as ACC play begins

The Duke basketball team opened conference play with an impressive victory. 

Is there anything that Duke basketball freshman Kyle Filipowski isn’t capable of?

The starting forward for the Blue Devils has shown no signs of slowing down as he is posting 15.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists on the season and Filipowski has proved to be a key player on both ends of the floor.

In No. 17 Duke’s (9-2) matchup against the Oregon State in the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament, Filipowski had 19 points and 14 rebounds in 31 minutes of play as he was all over the floor, offensively and defensively.

As Duke advanced, the Willbraham & Monson product showed no signs of slowing down.

The Blue Devils would topple Xavier the day after its win over Oregon State and Filipowski had 12 points and four rebounds.

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For the first time in five consecutive games, Filipowski was not the leading scorer as Duke’s captain, Jeremy Roach, led the team with 21 points.

As Duke fell short to then No. 24 Purdue in the championship game, Filipowski broke his streak of consecutive double-doubles. While still scoring 14 points and shooting 5-of-11 from the field, he was only able to corral five rebounds against the talented front line of the Boilermakers.

Duke returned home to add a victory against No. 25 Ohio State to its resume and the forward was able to put up 16 points and five rebounds.

Finally, in its conference opener against Boston College (5-4), Filipowski put up his fifth double-double of the season while 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-of-7 from the field in the 75-59 victory.

Duke basketball forward gathering 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 as though they have not yet risen to their full potential.

Kyle Filipowski was ranked as No. 7 prospect in the Class of 2022, according to ESPN.com, but he has continuously 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 create a defensive strategy that minimizes Filipowski’s opportunities near the rim.

Most of his scoring has come from layups and dunks in the paint, which makes sense for someone of his size.

Standing at 7-feet tall, Filipowski has also proved to be a threat on the perimeter as his movement and ball handling have been impressive for someone of this size, and from what we have seen so far Kyle Filipowski could have tremendous potential in the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft.