The time has arrived: Kyle Filipowski is making his comeback.
By any regular standard, the sophomore center has had a great season. He has averaged more blocks, points and rebounds than any other player on the Duke men’s basketball team all season. But, fair to him or not, expectations for Filipowski on the court are anything but regular.
He lives under the pressure of ACC Preseason Player of the Year, All-American First Team and the laurels of returning for a sophomore season after dominating his freshman year as arguably the best player on the Blue Devils’ roster. So when the New York native started this season playing less than spectacular, or at least below his lofty standard, he looked to be falling behind.
After Tuesday night’s 75-53 win, however, he looks to be speeding right back up. And if there were a game for him to do so, Pittsburgh makes perfect sense — it’s the opponent against whom he shines brightest.
But they’re still “a scary opponent,” per head coach Jon Scheyer.
The first time Filipowski faced Pittsburgh in his freshman season, he set his then-career best in points with 28 against the Panthers (it became 29 after he played Virginia Tech). He also tallied 15 rebounds, a block and a steal. It was a night that symbolized the best of the then-freshman phenom, more momentous in that it followed two less-than-stellar performances, including Duke’s 24-point loss to N.C. State.
The second time he saw Pittsburgh came in the Greensboro Coliseum for the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament in early March. In that game, Filipowski knocked down 22 points, shooting 4-for-6 from deep and snagging a steal as well.
Basically, he plays really well against the Panthers, and Tuesday night was no exception.
“For Flip to play that way, he's a difference maker,” Scheyer said.
Filipowski’s shooting was outstanding. He went 4-for-4 behind the arc even though he has only made 13 other threes this season, meaning that it took just one game for that number to increase by nearly a third. He went 11-for-12 total in field goals to rack up a total of 26 points, his second-best all season. He snagged 10 rebounds — earning him his fifth double-double of the campaign — and also slammed a block. Filipowski played like the best version of Filipowski, and it made his third matchup against Pittsburgh monotonous to the point some would call boring. The Panthers didn’t stand a chance.
“When he plays that way for our team it totally changes the dynamic of our offense, our defense,” Scheyer said. “I don't feel there's really anybody like him in the country when he plays that way.”
A cursory glance at Filipowski’s stat averages this year makes it seem like this kind of performance barely warrants a mention. He averages 17.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, after all. He just hasn’t really looked like Duke’s beloved and dominant “Flip” this season — with some notable exceptions — until Tuesday night.
“He can run to the block and post early, he can trail and drive, he can trail and shoot threes, he can set screens,” Scheyer said of Filipowski. “He can just do so much.”
The questions, then, are as follows: Why did it take him so long to get back here, and is this “comeback” set to be a lasting one? If the answer to that first question has anything to do with Scheyer cementing his season lineup, the answer to the second question is probably yes. Just like for any college student, sophomore year promises to be a tricky one for basketball players. It requires learning how to apply the lessons of a freshman season on the court to a new season with new teammates, different opponents and a changed reputation. It was easy for Blue Devil fans to welcome one of the top recruiting classes in the country into Cameron Indoor Stadium, but it was probably difficult for their sophomore teammates, who had only just found their footing at the college level and then had to learn how to adjust. On top of all that, Filipowski bid goodbye to freshman teammate Dereck Lively II, whose departure for the NBA made Filipowski’s position as the big man on the Blue Devil squad even more significant than it had been when he could stand an inch below Lively. Change is hard, even for the projected best basketball player in the ACC.
As of late, though, Scheyer’s lineup seems to be falling into place. Veterans are in charge, with the exception of freshman Jared McCain, who has seemingly mastered motion with his older teammates in that they all know how to set him up for his frequent and characteristic shots from downtown. Otherwise, it’s Tyrese Proctor at point, Jeremy Roach at shooting guard, Mark Mitchell running forward and Filipowski taking the place at center. Freshman Caleb Foster is starting in place of Proctor while the latter regains complete health after an injury suffered against Georgia Tech earlier this season, but otherwise, minutes are divided quite consistently between the one senior, three sophomores and a freshman sharpshooter.
If Scheyer sticks to all that, his star center should be in good shape for the rest of the season. Filipowski knows how to play with these guys. His earlier inconsistency may look like a weakness, but really, it says something kind of special about a talent that needs his teammates in order to really shine.
Whether that’s the case or whether it’s just a Pittsburgh thing will come out in the wash Saturday night in a rematch against Georgia Tech.
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Sophie Levenson is a Trinity junior and a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.