Ecstatic Demon Deacons supporters stormed the floor in celebration after unranked Wake Forest defeated No. 8 Duke on Saturday on national television in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, but it came at the expense of one of Duke’s players. Cameras showed supporters crashing on Blue Devils center Kyle Filipowski as he attempted to leave the court, breaking one of his ankles.
Following the incident, Jon Scheyer, the coach at Duke, made a daring declaration about the culture of court storming in college basketball.
Scheyer told reporters, “I’m more worried about our guys’ welfare.” Flip sprains his ankle; when will court storming be outlawed? When will that be prohibited? How many times does a player have to engage in situations where they are shoved, punched, or taunted directly in the face? It’s also a risky thing.
There is a long-standing custom in college basketball of storming the floor, so some people may disagree with Schneider’s assessment, but he wasn’t incorrect about the risks.
However, court storming is here to stay for the time being. With the defeat, Wake Forest advanced to 18–9 overall and 10–6 in the conference, while Duke dropped to 21–6 overall and 12–4 in ACC play.
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