Heading into the primary night time of the 2024 NBA Draft, former Duke All-American entrance court docket participant Kyle Filipowski was nearly universally tabbed as a lock to be chosen someplace in the midst of the primary spherical.
However after 30 picks had been made on Wednesday night time, the 6-foot-11, 230 pound ahead was nonetheless on the board regardless of being invited to the Inexperienced Room.
Following a sophomore season during which he earned First Group All-ACC honors and was a Concensus Second Group All-American, Filipowksi declared for the NBA Draft. The choice made sense after he led Duke in scoring (16.4), rebounds (8.3), blocks (1.5), steals (1.1), whole subject objectives (220) and whole free throws (112) as normally a high producing participant on a profitable Duke staff finds his method into the assured cash spherical of the draft.
However that wasn’t the case on Wednesday night time as NBA groups prioritized long run upside from worldwide gamers or extra uncooked athletic prospects.
Now, because the draft will enter its second day, the narrative surrounding Filipowski will change as CBS Draft analyst Cameron Salerno famous.
“It was very shocking that Filipowski fell out of the primary spherical fully,” wrote Salerno. “Filipowski is thought to be top-of-the-line offensive gamers on this class and ranked No. 16 on CBS Sports activities’ huge board. Whoever drafts Filipowski within the second spherical might be getting one of the gifted 7-footers within the class.”
Former head coach Jon Scheyer agreed with that characterization of his beginning huge man, posting a remaining pre-draft thought to this system’s social media.
“He’s extremely expert personnel. He is sort of a guard. Could not be extra excited for him,” Scheyer stated.
So what was it about Filipowski that scared groups off all through the night time? It is powerful to say, however the former 5 star prospect did endure a number of surgical procedures throughout his time in Durham together with two main procedures on his hip following his freshman season. Moreover, groups had been reportedly involved with a perceived lack of polish on his inside transfer set, a generally streaky and overused perimeter shot, and a scarcity of elite quickness and rim safety on the defensive finish.
In the course of the mix stage of the Draft course of Filipowski measured out at 6-foot-10.75 with a wingspan of simply 6-foot-10.5. He additionally examined within the backside half of the category for each leaping and foot pace.
As one school head coach who confronted Duke this season instructed TheAthletic’s Davis Aldridge:
“I believe he is an excellent participant. My huge factor for him, for that league, is: What place? The place he struggled this 12 months was when he performed in opposition to greater guys – not essentially top, however guys who had the physicality to face as much as him. He did not have Full of life this 12 months so he wound up enjoying the 5. Offensively, he can shoot it, he can put it on the ground, and I used to be actually impressed along with his passing this 12 months. He confirmed that. However the defensive half is the half that might concern me. One among them dudes is gonna knock the s— out of him, and what’s he gonna do then?”
No matter why he dropped out of the primary spherical, Filipowski now has an opportunity to forge a path ahead as second spherical choice.