Kyle Filipowski and Mark Mitchell of Duke basketball are deserving of greater attention, and they are gaining it.
It’s not unusual for people to try to find fault with Duke basketball. The custom goes back many years. On occasion, it is justified.
However, second-year Duke head coach Jon Scheyer responded forcefully to critics who questioned the character of sophomore forwards Kyle Filipowski and Mark Mitchell on Monday night, following their team’s 77-69 home victory over Wake Forest (16-8, 8-5 ACC) as the No. 9 Blue Devils (19-5, 10-3 ACC) defeated the unranked Wake Forest team.
After his team’s third consecutive victory, Scheyer told the media, “I thought Mark and Flip were men.” “They seemed pretty hard tonight, in my opinion. Additionally, anyone who questions these men’ toughness or values is unaware of Mark Mitchell and Kyle Filipowski.”
With an average of 17.4 and 13.1 points, respectively, Filipowski and Mitchell played all but two minutes against the Demon Deacons. They added 18 rebounds and four blocks to their total 44 points, marking the first time they have each scored more than 20 points in the same game against the Blue Devils.
Moreover, they committed just two fouls apiece yet were fouled out for a total of 13. Together, Duke’s frontcourt tandem put on quite the late-season show.
“People are going to say what they want to say,” Mitchell observed in the post-match dressing room. But I believe we’re developing as a team. That, in my opinion, is truly important, particularly at this stage of the season.
“When these late-night, conference games get close, it’s not really about the Xs and Os; it’s just about who’s going to compete and who’s going to fight.” And I think we accomplished that tonight.”
