Nine times this season, Kyle Filipowski has won ACC Freshman of the Week. It was no surprise, then, when the news came in Monday afternoon — the New York native is the 2022-23 ACC Rookie of the Year.
Filipowski received 68 of 75 votes, with Judah Mintz of Syracuse receiving the remaining seven. This marks the second-straight year a Duke freshman has won the award — Paolo Banchero was named Rookie of the Year last season — and the ninth time in the last 12 years.
Coming into the year, Filipowski had the odd distinction of being the No. 4 player in his class but the third-highest rated Blue Devil recruit, behind Dariq Whitehead and Dereck Lively II. Yet from start to finish, Filipowski was Duke’s most productive player, averaging 15 points and 9.2 rebounds per contest, while shooting 42.4% from the field, 27.6% from three and 77.7% from the charity stripe.
Leveraging his 7-foot, 230-pound frame, Filipowski has brought mobility, footwork in the post and relentless effort on the glass, and has been effective alongside both Lively and Ryan Young — a rim runner and traditional back-to-the-basket center, respectively. He also has proven adept at defending in space, allowing head coach Jon Scheyer to switch on that end of the court.
Filipowski was joined on the All-ACC Rookie Team by teammates Tyrese Proctor and Lively. In addition, the former five-star was named to the All-ACC Second Team, just four votes behind Pittsburgh’s Jamarius Burton for the final First Team spot. Duke guard and preseason All-ACC First Team selection Jeremy Roach received one vote each for ACC Player of the Year and Most Improved Player while earning All-ACC Honorable Mention honors.
Lively was also named to the All-Defensive Team after finishing second in the league with 2.3 blocks per game.
Miami’s Isaiah Wong was named the ACC Player of the Year (Filipowski finished fifth with three votes), while Pittsburgh’s Jeff Capel received ACC Coach of the Year. The Panthers’ Nike Sibande was named Sixth Man of the Year (Ryan Young finished third, while Dariq Whitehead finished fourth), Virginia’s Reece Beekman was named Defensive Player of the Year and Boston College’s Quinten Post was named Most Improved Player.
Duke, the No. 4 seed in the ACC tournament, opens play in Greensboro, N.C., Thursday at 2:30 p.m in the quarterfinals. It will face the winner of No. 5-seed Pittsburgh’s Wednesday meeting with No. 12-seed Florida State or No. 13-seed Georgia Tech.
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Max Rego is a Trinity senior and an associate sports editor for The Chronicle's 118th volume. He was previously sports managing editor for Volume 117.