March 30, 2023

HOUSTON, TX -- Duke’s Kyle Filipowski is the recipient of the 2023 Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year award.

The near unanimous selection for ACC Rookie of the Year, Filipowski averaged 15.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, leading the team in both categories. He was tied for 10th nationally and led all Division I freshman with 16 double-doubles this season.

His 16 double-doubles are tied for second-most by a Duke freshman and he is just the sixth freshman in school history with 300 or more rebounds in a season, standing tied for third on the Duke freshman single-season rebounding list with 322.

“Kyle Filipowski continued to grow as player throughout the season and as he got better, Duke got better,” said Angela Lento, Vice President of CollegeInsider.com. “He may stand 7-feet tall, but his skill level puts him in the category of a combo forward. Kyle has a unique ability to score at all three levels. Factor that in with his ability to rebound and defend, makes him the top freshman in the country.”

The ACC Tournament MVP averaged 19.7 points, shot .667 (24-of-36) from the field and pulled down 7.0 rebounds with two 20-point games and two double-doubles in Duke's three-game run to the tournament title.

He became just the third Duke freshman all-time to have at least 28-15 in a game after a monster 28-point, 15-rebound effort against Pittsburgh, leading the Blue Devils to a 12-point second-half comeback victory.

The 7-footer from Westtown, N.Y., was a nine-time ACC Rookie of the Week.

Filipowski becomes the fifth Blue Devil to win the Kyle Macy Award since its inception in 2012, joining Jabari Parker (2014), Brandon Ingram (2016), Marvin Bagley III (2018) and Zion Williamson (2019).

The award, is named for a guard who starred as a freshman for Purdue. The 1975 Indiana Mr. Basketball, Macy played his freshman season at Purdue University, averaging 13.8 points per game while leading the Boilermakers in free throws (85.9 percent for the season). He started in 25 of 27 games, helping them to a 16-11 season record.

After playing his freshman year at Purdue, Macy transferred to the University of Kentucky in 1976. He started every game for the Wildcats in 1977. A three-time All-America and three-time All-SEC player, Macy was a member of Kentucky's 1978 National Championship team. In his senior year of 1979-80, he became the first Kentucky player ever to be named consensus Southeastern Conference Player of the Year.

The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.

2023 KYLE MACY FRESHMEN ALL-AMERICA TEAM

Note: Some of the content from the press release came directly from Duke University media releases.