Storming the court after a massive upset has become commonplace in college basketball. However, a recent trend of mishaps has resulted in calls for change when it comes to the post-victory celebrations from rowdy fans.
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer did not mince words about his opinion on court storming following No. 8 Duke's upset loss to Wake Forest, 83-79, on Saturday. His strong stance came after Blue Devils center Kyle Filipowski was injured during the rush of Demon Deacons fans onto the court in Winston Salem, NC.
"When are we going to ban court storming?" Scheyer said. "When are we going to ban that? How many times does a player have to get into something where if they get punched or if they get pushed or they get taunted in their face?
"It's a dangerous thing. You look around the country and Caitlin Clark something happens, now Flip."
Filipowski injured his knee during the court-storming incident, Scheyer said after the game.
"I've already heard that there's some videos of getting punched in the back, and so I absolutely feel like it was personal, intentional for sure," Filipowski said. "There's no reason where they see a big guy like me trying to work my way off the court and they can't just work around me. There's no excuse for that."
DeCOURCY: Clark collision another example why allowing court storms isn't worth the risk
Court storming controversy
Court-storming has been a hot topic as of late. The incident at Winston-Salem comes on the heels of Caitlin Clark being involved in a similar situation of her own. She collided with a fan after Iowa's loss at Ohio State earlier in the season, and she had to be helped off the court. Since then, prominent names in the basketball world have voiced their thoughts on the matter.
ESPN's Chris Spatola said the Filipowski injury is "why court storming should not happen."ESPN's Jay Bilas said that "fans do not belong on the court ever" as he explained the risks of the action.
"When somebody gets hurt, we're going to get serious about it," Bilas said. "When was the last time you saw a field storming in an NFL game? The NBA? Major League Baseball? They don't do it. They protect the players and we don't do it in college."
The opinion seems to be shared among those in the NCAA world. Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes was among those who made it clear he did not support the situation.
"I don't like court stormings. Never have. I've been a part of those before as a coach, just don't feel safe," Forbes said. "And I'm sure the next time that happens, we'll do a better job of taking care of that situation."
Wake Forest athletic director John Currie issued the following statement to Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde:
“On behalf of Wake Forest, we sincerely regret the unfortunate on-court incident following this afternoon’s men’s basketball game and hope the involved Duke student-athlete is doing better. I called Duke Vice President and Director of Athletics Nina King and ACC Senior Associate Commissioner Paul Brazeau immediately after the game and expressed our sincere regret for the situation and our concern for the Duke student-athlete’s well-being. Although our event management staff and security had rehearsed postgame procedures to protect the visiting team and officials, we clearly must do better. I appreciate the postgame comments of Duke Head Coach Jon Scheyer and I am in complete agreement that something more must be done about the national phenomenon of court and field storming and Wake Forest looks forward to being a part of those conversations."
The incident led ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips to release a statement.
ACC commish Jim Phillips has released a statement in reaction to the court storming earlier today after Wake Forest’s victory against Duke. pic.twitter.com/vb7y7ov3tH
— Andrew Carter (@_andrewcarter) February 25, 2024
Kyle Filipowski injury update
Filipowski injured his knee during the court-storming incident. The exact injury or extent of the injury is not known at this time.
The junior center's status for upcoming games was not immediately known following the injury, Scheyer said.
Video of the incident appears to show Filipowski trying to clear his way to the sideline as fans continued to rush into him, including one fan who seems to reach an arm toward the Duke player and make contact with Filipowski's back.
Here’s the overhead angle of the Kyle Filipowski court storming collision. pic.twitter.com/qEwG2zOPM2
— CBB Content (@CBBcontent) February 24, 2024