Ingram, Filipowski Have Different Takes on Tripping Incident
DURHAM, NC – On a night Cormac Ryan had one of the greatest games ever by a North Carolina player inside Duke’s sweltering hallowed hall, and that the Tar Heels outright clinched the regular season ACC title, the sequence most will discuss moving forward is Kyle Filipowski’s leg.
His right leg, to be exact, and it added another couple of layers to the Duke forward’s villainesque reputation that is fast growing. And on this night, it wasn’t Wake Forest students storming the floor leading to some interesting words on his part, it was UNC forward Harrison Ingram on the receiving end of Filipowski’s efforted Grayson Allen impression.
Or that’s how it appeared, and what Ingram thought.
“I feel like he tripped me,” Ingram said following UNC’s 84-79 victory. “But I’m not sure, I haven’t seen the film yet.”
Late in the first half, one that was largely a struggle for the Devils, including Filipowski, who had just six points at halftime, it appeared the Duke star tried to deliberately trip Ingram.
Both players were on the floor in the lane after a missed Duke (24-7, 15-5 ACC) shot attempt. Ingram, who was right behind the 7-foot Blue Devil, got up and tried getting over and around Filipowski to run back on defense. But the 6-foot-7 junior never got traction and he fell down again.
On the next dead ball, Ingram ask head referee Teddy Valentine about the play, an exchange he shared after the game.
“He was like he didn’t see it,” Ingram said. “‘What do you mean you didn’t see it, are you watching the game?’ And he was like, ‘No.’”
Filipowski, who finished with 23 points, denied any ill intent.
“I’m not really too sure how that whole situation happened, to be honest,” he told the North State Journal. “I was really just getting up. My foot slipped. I don’t know how I caught him, that’s really all I got. I don’t see him coming from anywhere. I didn’t even know he was back with me. I thought I was the only one left.”
Ingram, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds on the night for the seventh-ranked Tar Heels (25-6, 17-3), didn’t shy from discussing it, or laying blame at the feet of Filipowski.
“On the court, I did definitely,” he replied, when asked if he thought it was a dirty play. “I was a little upset. But I don’t want to say anything too soon until I see what happened.”
Ingram left for Carolina’s bus as soon as his interview ended, saying he was going to pull it up on his phone once he sat down for the short drive back to Chapel Hill.
Whether or not it was intentional and dirty is somewhat subjective, because when things happen so quickly, it’s truly hard to tell. But given the national reaction, Ingram appears to have a legitimate complaint.