Kyle Filipowski ’s brother Daniel has slammed Duke after the 20-year-old slipped out of the first round of the NBA Draft amid his controversial relationship.
Filipowski enjoyed a successful season for the Blue Devils last season and looked set to be a first round pick in the draft , even attending in person. But his name wasn’t called out on the first day and he was eventually selected by Utah Jazz at 32nd overall. Ahead of Thursday’s second round, allegations were made by Filipowski’s family about his relationship with his fiancée Caitlin Hutchinson.
Daniel took aim at the Blue Devils’ coaching staff for failing to handle Filipowski and his relationship with his older girlfriend. He criticized Duke for falling from the levels set during Mike Krzyzewski’s 42 years as coach, which ended in 2022, Daniel tweeted: “Duke is no longer Duke anymore… SICK,” with three vomiting emojis.
He also posted a series of messages on X on Sunday, which read: “For someone that aspires to be a head coach for a D1 program and been coaching high school and AAU basketball for 9 years, I am very lucky and grateful for the lasting genuine relationships I have had with my players and their families. As a kid, I grew up…
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“Idolizing and wanting to be the next Coach K. The years of success of what he built at Duke, just to be torn down in two years. An absolute shame! To know what has changed, and only for the worse for the program. You all don’t realize how bad Duke is really missing Coach K…
“For the staff to just turn around and hide from the problem when we asked for help from the very beginning. Duke students, we know you have the story when you were told to keep it quiet. Make no mistake, you have the power in your voices to continue to ignite this push further!
“You have the ability help numerous families get through this serious problem. And to the future families of students and athletes who consider this school as the place for your child, maybe consider where their priorities lie. It’s NOT in your kids best interests!”
Daniel and his mother Rebecca claimed on social media that Hutchinson, who they say is 28 years old, forced Filipowski to become estranged from his family and cut them off, alleging he was “groomed” by Hutchinson. The situation is a bizarre one and ESPN reporter Jonathan Givony reported that teams had been put off by the revelations.
“NBA teams are talking about the fact that they had question marks about his girlfriend being so much older than him, why was he estranged from his family because of this whole situation,” Givony said on "NBA Today".
“He apparently doesn’t talk to his parents or his brother and it’s a very, very odd situation. I personally don’t understand why it would cause him to drop like this into the second round. There are no questions about his character, but NBA teams are talking about his nerves and his workouts weren’t great. And when they asked him about the situation in interviews the answers they got weren’t satisfactory for them.”
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