The conclusion of the college basketball regular season signals the 1st real opportunity to see the best high school players in the country getting some national exposure. In addition to the McDonald’s All-American Game in March, the Nike Hoop Summit made its triumphant return to the court in April after a 2-year absence due to COVID featuring the United States vs. the World. The US team won by a score of 102–80 thanks to a balanced effort including Villanova commit Cam Whitmore (19 PTS in 15 minutes) and Duke commit Kyle Filipowski (8 REB in 13 minutes). The World team featured some future American college stars as well including USC commit Vincent Iwuchukwu (9 PTS in 16 minutes) and Ohio State commit Felix Okpara (7 PTS in 14 minutes). Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Kyle about winning a gold medal last summer and choosing the Blue Devils.
You were born/raised in New York and began your high school career at Fordham Prep: why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose Wilbraham & Monson Academy? I decided to transfer because I really needed to challenge myself more both academically/athletically. My family and I decided to look at schools up in the NEPSAC area but I was not a big name at the time. We stopped at Wilbraham on the way back and I have now been here for 3 years.
Last summer you played for Team USA at the FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup: what did it mean to you to represent your country, and what did it mean to you to win a gold medal? It is the biggest honor there is for a basketball player in this country. It is important to maintain that gold standard. I also got to showcase my skills and loved having that opportunity.
You received scholarship offers from several great schools including Connecticut/Ohio State/Syracuse: what made you choose Duke? At the end of the day it was the best all-around fit for me. When I went on my visit it just felt normal to me and all of the people were genuine. You cannot get much better in terms of player development and playing on such a big stage. Academics is a big priority in my family and I will be proud to have a Duke degree someday.
What makes incoming head coach Jon Scheyer such a great recruiter, and how much pressure is there on him to follow in Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski’s huge footsteps? He is such a likable person and connects with his players on a different level. Part of it is because he is 1 of the youngest coaches in the country and knows what it is like for our generation. He has a great vision for the players/program. There is a little bit of pressure on him (how could there not be!) but that is not how he or our team will look at it. If he lets it affect him mentally then we will not achieve as much as we are planning to. He will be very successful right off the bat.
Last February you were named to the Naismith National High School Boys Basketball All-America 1st team: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor, and how excited were you to see not 1 but 2 of your future Duke teammates join you on that list (Dereck Lively II/Dariq Whitehead)? Having the 3 of us on the 1st team shows the high expectations that are placed on us. We are not like many other incoming freshmen in that we have a lot of experience both in the US and overseas playing against great competition. It is a great privilege to see my name on that list, which reflects well on our future.
You 3 alone make up arguably the best recruiting class in the nation: how well do you know any of the other guys who will be joining you in Durham this fall (Mark Mitchell/Christian Reeves/Jaden Schutt)? We all know each other very well and have been in contact consistently to build that chemistry.
As a member of Team USA at the Nike Hoop Summit last month you had a team-high 8 REB in a 102-80 win over the World team: what did you think of the future Duke players on the World team (MacKenzie Mgbako/Tyrese Proctor)? They have a lot of talent for sure and will never be satisfied with where they are at. You have to stay focused and keep getting better every day, but they have the potential to become really great players.
The following week at the Jordan Brand Classic you had 8 PTS/8 REB for Team Flight in a 9-PT loss to Team Air: which of the other players impressed you the most (Chris Livingston/Nick Smith/other)? I would say Ty Rodgers: his energy/attitude during the entire game was great. He had a lot of 2nd-chance opportunities and showed his great leadership.
You are listed at 6’11”: what position do you play now, and what position will you feel most comfortable at in college? I cannot pick a single position because I am a position-less-type player who will play wherever the coach wants me to. I can play the 3/4/5 and consider myself to be a versatile player.
Your mother Rebecca was a 1982 Parade Magazine All-American, your father David played at Slippery Rock, your aunt Beverly played at Dartmouth, your uncle Randall played at Boston College, and 1 of your current prep school teammates is your twin brother Matt (who will be playing at Harvard): how big is basketball in your family, and who is the best player? Growing up it was never really forced upon us: it just came naturally. We are a competitive family, even if it is rec league soccer or wiffle ball in the backyard. You could say that basketball is a religion in our family: it is always crazy during March Madness when we root against one another. I think that my mom has earned the right to that accolade…but I am planning on taking the throne very soon!