Duke Basketball: 3 reasons Kyle Filipowski made right decision to return for 2023-24
The chance to win an NCAA Championship
When the Duke Blue Devils lost to the Tennessee Volunteers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, there was one glaring difference between the two teams that almost every announcer mentioned: experience. Tennessee had four seniors in the starting lineup. Duke on the other hand, relied heavily on freshman phenoms who had never been in this position before.
While the narrative of “one-and-done” has dominated college basketball for more than a decade, only two teams have successfully won the national championship structured around a core of freshman players. Those two teams were the 2012 Kentucky Wildcats and the 2015 Duke Blue Devils. However, even those teams possessed upperclassmen who received significant playing time and made great contributions.
Next season, Kyle Filipowski will be a better player. Although he was one of the best freshmen in the nation this past season, he will inevitably get stronger before his sophomore year. If opposing teams thought the 7’0″ 230 lb. center was a handful last season, they will have an even harder time stopping him with seven or eight pounds of additional muscle added to his frame. The University training staff will see to it that he adds the weight without losing any of his quickness. His footwork is already elite; guarding him will not be a fun assignment next year.
In addition to Filipowski, there will also be the continued development of Tyrese Proctor and Mark Mitchell. These three won’t exactly be Laettner, Hurley and Hill, but they are a formidable core for Coach Jon Scheyer to build around. Duke is also bound to have one of the top recruiting classes in the nation, as they do every year; there will certainly be at least one freshman standout who is ready to contribute to the team’s success right away.
These factors make the Blue Devils one of the favorites to win the National Championship next season. Thus, the possibility of winning it all certainly helped Kyle Filipowski decide to stay in school for another season.