"A goal of mine, too, was to win ACC Player of the Year": Kyle Filipowski reveals unfulfilled dream of winning conference honors

Kyle Filipowski recently shared that winning ACC Player of the Year was his cherished desire as the Duke star finished second to RJ Davis of North Carolina. In his sophomore season, Filipowski got his name on the All-ACC team.

Flipowski averaged 16.7 points, 8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in his second season with the Duke Blue Devils. Earlier as a freshman, Kyle Filipowski won ACC tournament MVP and got his name on the second team All-ACC. This year, the Duke star had the distinction of being on the All-ACC first team along with PJ Hall of the Clemson Tigers, Hunter Sallis of Wake Forest, and Blake Hinson of the Pittsburgh Panthers.

While talking to Bleacher Report, the star opened up on a host of issues, including March Madness, courtstorming, and NBA plans. Filipowski shared about the hard work he had put in to win the ACC Player of the Year and how he plans to go ahead after the results:

"It's a great honor. I've been putting in a lot of work this year. And seeing that payoff is great. A goal of mine, too, was to win ACC Player of the Year, and I came up just short. Credit to RJ Davis, he's had a crazy-good season. He really did deserve that. But it adds a little bit more fuel to the fire for me going into March. Just trying to show everyone that I'm just as good."

RJ Davis averaged 21.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists this season for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Kyle’s numbers are not as high of course but the star did well enough this season scoring at least 20 points in 11 different games.

The NBA plans of Kyle Filipowski

As a freshman, Kyle Filipowski averaged 15.1 points, and 8.9 rebounds and scored 16 double-doubles. In 2023, he was projected as a first-round selection in the NBA draft but the Duke star chose not to go.

Kyle recently shared that he gets distracted by the NBA discussions revolving around him. The star revealed that he was trying to focus on March Madness and think about NBA selection later:

"I'm 100 percent just focused on the postseason and winning the ACC tournament and March Madness with my team and my guys. That's been a dream of mine forever. Just putting all my energy and focus on that, and the only thing that will come out of that is good. Whenever the season ends, I'll turn my focus to my decision about what I'll be doing after this year."

The Duke star's shooting, playmaking, and defensive capabilities have already made him the center of discussion in college basketball.

Do you think Kyle should continue playing college basketball or switch over to the NBA? Let us know in the comments.