Washington, D.C. Since high school, Kyle Filipowski has used the same image as his Twitter header.

Only a photo of NBA player Kobe Bryant with one of his most well-known sayings, “Everything negative—pressure, challenges—is all an opportunity for me to rise.”

Although Filipowski isn’t as passionate about Kobe as some fans are, that phrase has always had meaning for him. Why? due to the circumstances surrounding when he discovered it—during his last year or two at Wilbraham & Monson Academy (Mass.)—and his personal circumstances at the time. Although he wasn’t at the time, Filipowski would go on to become a five-star, top-five recruit in the nation. In the middle of his high school career, Filipowski found himself in a precarious situation where he was aware of both his enormous basketball potential and the personal obstacles that could keep him from realizing it.

overly sentimental. rash. Easily agitated.

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In an interview with The Athletic last week about his NIL contract with IcyHot, Filipowski said, “That was a point in my life where I was trying to get a lot more mental fortitude.” “More at ease with the way I approach things and accepting that I get nervous sometimes.”

A portion of that is typical teenage development. However, Filipowski’s mentality had to advance at the same rate as his on-court growth. Kobe Bryant, a basketball legend known for his “Mamba Mentality,” is the ideal person to turn to.

According to Filipowski, “He concentrated so much on his mindset and mentality.” “I was a really sensitive player,”

Filipowski pauses, realizing he’s been speaking in the past tense. You mean self-awareness?

He laughs and says, “I still am today, but I wasn’t able to control it as well, I think.”

Now that Filipowski and his teammates are scheduled to kick up NCAA Tournament action on Friday, it’s a particularly relevant topic. In its first round match, No. 4 seed Duke in the South Region will play No. 13 seed Vermont; if the Blue Devils win, they will play the winner of the match between No. 5 Wisconsin and No. 12 James Madison. Right in the middle of everything is Filipowski, who leads Duke in both scoring and rebounding. He is also maybe the most divisive player in the Big Dance.

Without a doubt, Jon Scheyer’s group possesses the talent to go past that quartet. However, the mindset?

It’s more difficult to tell.

That approach was called into question following Duke’s loss to NC State in the ACC tournament, which followed the team’s setback to North Carolina in the regular season. This was only the second time this season that Duke had lost consecutive games. Unprompted, Filipowski brought up the Vols’ second-round loss to them the previous season, mentioning in particular how they “wanted it more” than Scheyer’s initial team. He stated last week that the same applied to NC State. And he wasn’t the only one who thought so; in the locker room after the game, Jared McCain, Mark Mitchell, and Jeremy Roach all agreed with Filipowski’s judgment, bent heads and shrugging shoulders.

Now that Filipowski is expected to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft this summer, his mental toughness will likely determine whether Duke advances to the Final Four or collapses in its opening weekend of play.

When Filipowski heard things like that, pressure and problems, he would try to use them as inspiration.

Not any longer.