Photo credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

Jon Scheyer Educates Critics on Two Duke Players' Fight

Originally posted on FanNation Blue Devil Country
By Matt Giles | Last updated 2/13/24

Folks trying to find fault in Duke basketball is nothing new. The practice dates backs decades. Sometimes, it's warranted.

But to naysayers questioning the heart of sophomore forwards Kyle Filipowski and Mark Mitchell, second-year Duke head coach Jon Scheyer delivered a strong retort on Monday night after those two battle-tested starters powered the No. 9 Blue Devils (19-5, 10-3 ACC) to a 77-69 home win over unranked Wake Forest (16-8, 8-5 ACC).

"I though Mark and Flip were men," Scheyer said to the media following his team's third straight victory. "I thought they were really tough tonight. And these guys, anybody who doubts their toughness, or what they're about, they don't know Mark Mitchell, and they don't know Kyle Filipowski."

Filipowski and Mitchell, now averaging 17.4 and 13.1 points, respectively, each played all but two minutes against the Demon Deacons. They combined for 44 points, the first time they've both eclipsed 20 points in the same game as Blue Devils, while adding 18 rebounds and four blocks.

Got up with Mark & Flip after the home dub over Wake pic.twitter.com/83GBBqhfEH
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) February 13, 2024

Furthermore, they drew a combined 13 fouls while committing only two apiece of their own. Altogether, it was quite a late-season flex from Duke's frontcourt duo.

"People are going to say what they want to say," Mitchell noted in the locker room afterward. "But I think we're growing together. I think that's really what matters, especially at this point in the season.

"When you get close in these late games, conference games, and it comes down to the nitty-gritty, it's not really X's and O's, it's just who's going to fight and who's going to compete. And tonight, I feel like we did that."

NEXT DUKE BASKETBALL GAME: at unranked Florida State (13-10, 7-5 ACC), 2 p.m. ET Saturday (ESPN)

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This article first appeared on FanNation Blue Devil Country and was syndicated with permission.

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