Jon Scheyer Says He Let Duke Basketball Players Down at Wake

Duke basketball may need to bring its own big security force to road games.

Photo credit: Cory Knowlton-USA TODAY Sports

Before the clocked ticked zero in Duke basketball's 83-79 loss at unranked Wake Forest (18-9, 10-6 ACC) on Saturday afternoon, fans had begun storming the court. Kyle Filipowski, who led the No. 8 Blue Devils (21-6, 12-4 ACC) with 17 points, got caught in the crowd and appeared to suffer a leg injury.

Filipowski was icing his right knee afterward. But during Duke head coach Jon Scheyer's postgame presser, he referred to the sophomore forward's setback as a sprained ankle.

Either way, Scheyer was heated when asking aloud why folks are allowed to storm the court in college basketball.

He had held out hope that his Blue Devils would hit a three and get fouled on their last possession with 1.8 seconds remaining in the game. But he added, in retrospect, that he "let them down" by not getting them off the floor sooner.

Duke’s Kyle Filipowski appears to get injured amid the court-storming by Wake Forest students. pic.twitter.com/Rn0v39ayZS

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) February 24, 2024

Here's everything Scheyer said about the incident:

"I'm disappointed we lost. But look, for me, I'm more concerned about the well-being of our guys. You know, 'Flip' sprains his ankle.

"When are we going to ban court-storming? Like, when are we going to ban that? Like, 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...

"You look around the country, and Caitlin Clark, something happened, and now 'Flip,' I don't know what his status is going to be — he sprains his ankle.

"And it's one thing when I played, at least it was 10 seconds, you know, and you would storm the court. Now, it's the buzzer doesn't even go off, and they're running on the floor. And this happened to us a bunch this year...That needs to stop...

"[The ACC] is here today. You see it. Like, who in their right mind can see that and say, 'Yeah, that's smart'? It's dangerous. And in what other sport does that happen? I'm telling you, I don't even think it was...what, did the buzzer go off and all of a sudden fans were at halfcourt?

"I turn, and I see 'Flip' is just surrounded by students, and he's limping off. We're carry[ng him off the court. What sense does that make?...

"I should have [gotten players off the court beforehand]. That's a mistake on my part. You're still trying to hope that somehow you can get fouled at the end. And I'm never gonna give up in a game. You want to do everything you can to give yourself a chance.

"Obviously, they're just staying away from us, and there wasn't an opportunity [to draw a foul]. But in retrospect, I wish I would've gotten those guys off the court.

"So, I let them down in that respect."

NEXT DUKE BASKETBALL GAME: at home versus unranked Louisville (8-19, 3-13 ACC), 7 p.m. ET Wednesday (ACCN)

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