Top 5 potential Kyle Filipowski replacements for Duke ft. Cooper Flagg
Duke sophomore Kyle Filipowski is now headed to the NBA, after having been drafted by the Utah Jazz in the second round of the 2024 Draft. Filipowski was All-ACC and a consensus second team All-American. He averaged 16.4 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game for the Blue Devils. How will they replace him? Here's a few possibilities.
Top 5 potential Kyle Filipowski replacements for Duke
Cooper Flagg
Flagg will certainly play a role in replacing Filipowski from a stat sheet standpoint. The nation's top recruit, Flagg could plausibly make up the missing 16 points and eight rebounds per game on his own.
That said, Flagg can't completely fix the situation. He's a 6-foot-9 wing player and not a 7-foot center like Filipowski. Flagg's shot blocking is significantly praised, but while he can carry the mantle of scoring and rebounding, he can't completely replace Filipowski based on his lack of size.
Khaman Maluach
Maluach is an interesting potential replacement for Filipowski. The 7-foot-2 South African is ranked as the No. 4 player in the 2024 class by 247sports. With his height and 250 pound size, Maluach can be the presence in the low post that Filipowski was, except even bigger.
That said, Malauch is much more of an offensive work in progress than Filipowski was. But it is worth noting that both centers were 247sports' No. 4 overall player in their respective high school classes.
Maliq Brown
A Syracuse transfer, the 6-foot-9 Brown is the same height as Cooper Flagg, but plays more of a traditional low post game. Brown averaged 9.5 ppg and 7.2 rpg last season for Syracuse. He'll play a primarily back-to-the-basket role.
Brown doesn't quite have the full skill set of Filipowski, and is a couple inches shorter. Realistically, there won't be any single Duke player who replaces Filipowski, but Brown can be a component part in the solution.
Patrick Ngongba
That said, if there was one player to replace Filipowski, Ngongba could be that player. He was 247sports' No. 19 player in the 2024 class, but the 6-foot-11 center can play low or step out and drain the perimeter shot.
Admittedly, Ngongba is not as far along in his development as Filipowski was at this phase in his career. But he has the potential to ultimately fulfill a similar role to Filipowski, if he can accelerate his learning curve a bit.
Stanley Borden
It's the longest of long shots, but Borden, who has played two minutes total in his Duke career is seven feet tall. Borden has never shown skills that would suggest an ability to play a major role, but as many have noted, height can't be coached. That said, if Jon Scheyer can make Borden into Filipowski 2.0, then he's pulled a very tall rabbit out of a very large hat.
Which Duke players can replace Kyle Filipowski? Weigh in below in the comments section with your thoughts.