Kyle Filipowski Wins ACC Rookie Of The Week. Again.

Nov 29, 2022 - 2:00 PM

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Although Duke struggled Sunday against Purdue, the Blue Devils had some significant positives in Portland, and one of the big positives, no pun intended, was the play of Kyle Filipowski.

Actually it’s been a positive throughout the young season. Filipowski is playing as well as any freshman in the country and on Monday, the ACC honored him as Freshman of the Week for the third time.

Filipowski has distinguished himself in several ways. First, he shoots very well. He’s also one of the nation’s best rebounders. He’s also got a bit of a nasty streak which has surfaced from time to time.

The best thing about him though is his competitiveness. Clearly he’s going to try to step up at critical moments. He’s really way ahead of what the expectations were for him this season.

On the downside, while he has outstanding skills in many ways, he hasn’t always figured out when to use them. You can almost see him at times thinking spin move! Spin move! Or Behind The Back Dribble!

It’s part of being a freshman. It just takes a while to know where you are and just how good everyone around you is.

Those are minor concerns and time will resolve them. The main thing is that Filipowski is playing at this level just weeks into his college career. He’s far better than just about anyone realized, and he’s not nearly as good as he’s going to be.