Duke's Jon Scheyer says court-storming at end of Wake Forest game was a 'dangerous situation'

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Duke Men's Basketball Head Coach Jon Scheyer was part of a weekly media gathering of ACC coaches.

This comes after Duke's Kyle Filipowski appeared to be injured when students at Wake Forest stormed the court after beating the Blue Devils over the weekend.

On Monday, Scheyer continued his stance that something needs to be done to protect the players when students storm the court.

"One, there's a way to do it if it's gonna happen. And two, there should be penalties if the students do do it," Scheyer said.

Scheyer isn't the only one to speak out against the practice. NC State coach Kevin Keatts and Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton also called on ACC officials to take a closer look at court-storming.

"You've either got to get rid of it, or, you have to organize it," Keatts said.

There's also support for protecting the tradition. Joel Berry's been on the floor for court-stormings as a star on UNC's title-winning team in 2017. Berry, now an analyst for the ACC Network, says the celebrations served as a reminder of how big a program he was representing.

"You don't want to be in the midst of that, but I think it's pretty cool because it just adds to the college experience for the athletes but also for the students as well," Berry said.

Still, Berry said he'd support some reform - mainly by buying the players a little more time to get off the court. He said that could be an uncomfortable feeling as fans rushed on the floor.

"Sometimes you do feel vulnerable because there is no one around that can help, you're kind of out there fending for yourself and trying to get out of the crowd," he said.

In response to the growing debate, the ACC issued a statement that said in part:

"Across college athletics, we have seen far too many of these incidents that put individuals at serious risk, and it will require the cooperation of all - including spectators - to ensure everyone's well-being. As a conference, we will continually assess with our schools the best way to protect our student-athletes, coaches, and fans."

"That can't happen. Even in retrospect, you're watching it back and there is a ton of attention on Flip (Filipowski) but if you go back and watch Jared McCain there is a student face to face with him. It's a dangerous situation."

He went on to say he hopes the ACC will do something to protect players right now and not wait until next season.

Scheyer said Filipowski's status is still unknown for their next game against Louisville on Wednesday.

The Filipowski incident comes after college player Caitlin Clark ran into an eager fan who was also rushing the court after a big upset against Clark's team.