ESPN Photo Credit: ESPN
CBSCollege BasketballESPNBy Arthur Weinstein on

Duke star Kyle Filipowski’s injury Saturday in a court-storming incident led to college basketball analysts on both CBS and ESPN to call for better security in such situations, if not a complete end to the practice.

In case you missed the incident, Filipowksi got hurt as Wake Forest fans rushed the court after their team upset No. 8 Duke.

The preseason All-American appeared to be injured just seconds after the buzzer, and Duke teammates and coaches immediately circled him and tried to fend off fans.

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said after the game that Filipowski suffered a sprained ankle. Scheyer then asked, “When are we going to ban court stormings?”

On the game broadcast, the incident prompted ESPN color analyst Chris Spatola to say, “That should not happen. That right there is why court storming should not happen.”

CBS and ESPN studio analysts also addressed the issue at length. On ESPN, Seth Greenberg called out Wake Forest officials for lax security.

“Wake Forest administration dropped the ball. You have to have a plan in place,” Greenberg said. “If you’re playing this game and expecting to win, you’ve got to hire extra security and have a plan in place to make sure these players get off the court safely.

“Wake Forest and their administration, shame on you, because you should have had something in place to make sure, the most important thing, the security of the visiting team.”

ESPN aired a different angle of the incident, showing a Wake Forest fan appearing to taunt Filipowski and run into him.

CBS Sports analyst Clark Kellogg agreed during that network’s halftime report. The CBS studio crew compared it to the recent incident in which Iowa star Caitlin Clark had to be helped off the court after a post-game collision with an Ohio State fan.

“I think you have to make the penalty significant enough to deter it happening,” Kellogg said. “Because somebody is going to seriously get hurt, and you don’t want that to happen before we do what needs to be done in regards to safety.”

Fellow CBS analyst Seth Davis said he’s been against court storming for years.

“First, you have to make the decision, are we going to ban court storms, or are we going to manage them?” Davis said. “I’ve never liked court storms. The court is for people … who have earned the right to be there, players and coaches. Fans have not earned the right to be there. … We could see this type of thing coming.”

“If we made the decision collectively in the sport to get rid of court storms, it could be done, people just don’t frankly have the gumption to do that, and I wish they would.”

“I think you just shut it down,” Kellogg said. “I don’t think you can have a middle ground … the players and coaches need to get off the court, and if you want to have a post-court storm a minute-and-a-half after the game, then you can do that.”

[Photo Credit: ESPN]

About Arthur Weinstein

Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.

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