Many of you probably have seen by now what happened to Duke forward Kyle Filipowski at the conclusion of the Blue Devils 83-79 road loss to Wake Forest on Feb. 24. Filipowski collided with court-storming fans and hobbled off the court. It turns out he has a sprained ankle, and this incident is bringing back to light the topic of court-storming in college basketball.

Court-storming has been a debated topic for a long time, but things have changed this year. Iowa guard Caitlin Clark was collided with during a court storming earlier this year. She is arguably the biggest name in college basketball right now, male or female. Duke is one of the biggest brands in basketball. These were both highly covered, highly scrutinized interactions. Whether it’s fair or not, these two incidents have impacted the conversation on court-storming more than incidents with lesser-known teams and players would have. I think regardless it’s time for the NCAA to make a proactive move and set standards that every school should be required to meet.

Court-storming has a place in college basketball in my book. It creates lifelong memories for the home team and fans, and watching the atmospheres they create after a big upset be altogether taken away would be sad to see. But a situation like the one in the Duke game can’t happen again. You can’t have fans rushing onto the court as the buzzer is sounding with basically no security to protect opposing players.

If I was the NCAA I would set minimum standards and requirements that every D1 School should have to meet. Here’s where I would start:

  • Minimum requirements for security guards on each sideline/baseline (security was nowhere to be found on the baseline fans rushed Filipowski from).
  • Hold some type of mandatory training for event staff at every school to complete, that is universal across the NCAA.

  • Create some type of system where the NCAA contacts schools the week of games where a possible court storm could take place. Protocols should be gone over, and the visiting team should be in the loop. The idea of extra security can also be accessed at this time. This could in theory already happen to some degree, but I doubt it. The NCAA needs to be more involved
  • Encourage and promote a “thirty-second shot clock” where fans wait to rush the court, giving away team personnel a chance to get to the tunnel.

This isn’t a comprehensive list by any means, but I think it could be a good start. I also understand not every fan/fanbase would follow the 30-second rule, but some would. I’ve seen others suggest this idea, and I’m all for it.

Whatever your stance on this topic is, or whatever solutions you propose, you can’t be happy seeing what happened to Kyle Filipowski. These schools and the NCAA need to do more to protect these student-athletes.

Agree? Disagree? Email lservello@www.clermontsun.com