Duke star Kyle Filipowski, his right leg, the intent to injure and a crazed college basketball crowd are back in the news together.
After Filipowski and North Carolina’s Harrison Ingram both fell to the ground during Saturday’s Tobacco Road rivalry game, Filipowski was the slower of the two to get up and appeared to swing his leg and deliberately trip Ingram to prevent a fastbreak.
No foul was called, and Filipowski suspiciously quickly began to limp and checked out of the game.
Social media was quick to label Filipowski’s play as dirty and compare him to former Duke star-turned-Suns starting guard Grayson Allen, who has a long résumé of tripping opponents.
That play was just the beginning of the ugliness, however.
North Carolina players seemed to be taunting the Duke home crowd after squeezing out an 84-79 road win, and the so-called “Cameron Crazies” responded by throwing trash onto the court.
“I got hit with water, ice,’’ Ingram told reporters after tallying a double-double. “I got hit with a gumball. I was like, who has a gumball? You know, it was all love. It was lit. We were talking crazy. It was fun.’’
Filipowski returned to the game after his first-half tangle-up with Ingram and scored 22 points in 31 minutes.
Only two weeks ago, Filipowski injured his right knee when Wake Forest fans stormed the court after beating Duke, and Filipowski claimed after the game that he thought the injury was intentional.
So, knowing something about intent, what was he thinking when he took out Ingram?
“I’m not really too sure how that whole situation happened,” Filipowski said. “I was really just getting up. My foot slipped. I don’t know how I caught him. That’s really all I got. I don’t see him coming from anywhere. I didn’t even know he was back with me. I thought I was the only one left.”
Ingram pleaded with the officials for a tripping foul.
“I feel like he tripped me,’’ Ingram said after the game. “But I’m not really sure. I haven’t see the film yet.’’
He likely won’t change his mind after a film review
