Why rebuilt hips have pushed expectations even higher for Duke basketball’s Kyle Filipowski
Kyle Filipowski achieved plenty during his freshman year at Duke, leading the Blue Devils in scoring and rebounding, and helping them win the ACC championship.
Considering the 7-foot Filipowski did all that with structural issues in both hips, limiting his strength and mobility, makes the accomplishment even more impressive.
That fact makes Duke’s hopes for an even better version of Filipowski as a sophomore all the more stronger since his April surgery that repaired both hips.
“It’s been great for me,” Filipowski said. “I feel so much better than I did last year. What I was lifting last year versus this year just with the surgery I got, I was able to just open up a whole new world to me and my body. So it’s been going really good.”
After Filipowski averaged 15.3 points and 8.9 rebounds last season, he decided quickly after Duke’s season ended with an NCAA Tournament second-round loss to Tennessee that he’d be back for another season of college basketball.
The problem with his hips, which Filipowski said has bothered him since high school, involved malformed hip joints atop both legs. Dr. Chad Mather, a Duke orthopedic surgeon who specializes in hips, performed the arthroscopic procedure to allow for proper movement.
The six-month recovery time from the procedure is why he decided against having it last summer. This year with Tennessee knocking Duke out of the NCAA Tournament on March 17, it allowed more time for Filipowski to have the procedure.
“It wasn’t really an option to get surgery last year, just because I would have been out for most of the season,” Filipowski said. “So you know, I just had to manage every day with it and play through it and stuff like that. There were struggles along the way, for sure, and times that were hard, no question about it. But I was able to get through it and get to where I am now.”
While Filipowski is still not playing five-on-five basketball or participating in contact situations, he’s well on his way to being ready for practices this fall and the regular season.
“He’s frankly way ahead of schedule,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “You’d hope by August he’d be doing the things he’s doing now. So he’s a couple of weeks ahead. Our medical team has done an amazing job with him.”
That’s good news for a Duke team that will enter this basketball season with the highest of hopes and expectations. Filipowski is among four returning starters for the Blue Devils, who lost freshmen Dereck Lively and Dariq Whitehead to the NBA Draft from last season’s team.
The 7-1 Lively played center and was a defensive force for Duke with 82 blocked shots. He’s now with the Dallas Mavericks after being selected No. 12 overall in the NBA Draft’s first round.
Filipowski’s offseason development is an important factor as the Blue Devils look for another rim-protecting big man to anchor their defense.
Scheyer pointed out that Filipowski is as big as many centers the Blue Devils will face so it’s something the coaching staff is certainly considering.
“I think he’ll definitely see more minutes there this year for sure,” Scheyer said.
But he also pointed out that Filipowski and 6-9 forward Mark Mitchell both possess the ability to guard players on the perimeter as well as closer to the basket.
Ryan Young, a 6-10 graduate student forward, and 7-1 sophomore Christian Reeves are Duke’s other post players along with 6-8 freshman forward Sean Stewart.
“Flip and Mark,” Scheyer said, “they are mismatch problems so they can play with Ryan on the floor or Christian. They can also play as the two biggest guys, even though they both have skill sets of guards.”
Filipowski, like his coaches, has confidence he can be more effective in all parts of his game this season following his hip surgery.
“It’s just a whole confidence boost for me,” Filipowski said.
Young is eager to see what Reeves can do for the Blue Devils this season. As a freshman, Reeves played in only 13 games. But he’s added 50 pounds to his frame since arriving on campus and is better equipped to be effective this season.
“I’ll be really excited to get Christian into the mix,” Young said. “He offers much more of a Dereck presence with his size and his ability to block shots.”
Filipowski, though, will be a focal point for Duke on both ends of the court. He would have been under consideration to be a first-round pick had he left for the NBA Draft.
Now he’s back with a track record that could make him a preseason first-team all-ACC player and even garner all-American accolades entering his second collegiate season.
That, plus his rebuilt hips, have him in position to do great things.