Oller's Second Thoughts: Time to put halt to court storming before serious injury occurs

Here we go again. Another college basketball court storming, another player knocked to the floor.

Duke 7-footer Kyle Filipowski was injured after colliding with Wake Forest fans following the Demon Deacons’ 83-79 win against the Blue Devils Saturday. After a fan made contact with Filipowski, appearing to bump his knee, the center was helped to the locker room by a manager and teammate.

Filipowski felt the contact was intentional.

“It's just really ridiculous how that situation is handled,” he told WFMY News after the game. “I absolutely feel like it was personal. Intentional for sure. Like I said, there's no reason where they see a big guy like me trying to work my way off the court and they can't just work around me, you know? There’s no excuse for that.”

It was the second high-profile collision of a player and fan in little over a month. Iowa star Caitlin Clark fell to the floor at Value City Arena Jan. 21 when an Ohio State fan ran into her following the Buckeyes’ 100-92 overtime win against then No. 2 Iowa.

After that incident, I wrote that player safety is paramount, more important than fans getting to celebrate by rushing the court. Boy, did I receive pushback, as readers blamed Clark for flopping after the collision. My response was fans should not have been on the court in the first place. Or at least should have waited until players had exited the court before racing into the celebratory melee. More pushback. It’s the job of opposing coaches to protect their players after a game. Don’t blame fans for just wanting to have fun.

Bah. Fans have become increasingly aggressive as they also become increasingly bent on enjoying the “experience” of winning. We’ve already seen college football fans taunt players while recording their viral moment on a cell phone. What’s next? Taking credit for injuring an opponent’s best player?

Could schools and conferences do more to maintain sanity and safety? Of course, beginning with putting an end to endorsing such behavior, even passively. I cringed when reading a post from Gene Smith on X (formerly Twitter) after the OSU men upset No. 2 Purdue this month.

“AN INCREDIBLE WEEKEND FOR THE BUCKEYES!!” Smith tweeted. “Couldn’t be more proud of all our coaches and student athletes. A weekend of sweeps, trophy lifts, B1G road wins, court storms and more!”

Thankfully, no one got hurt during the Purdue post-game celebration. Filipowski was not so lucky. He will be fine, but it was a scary moment, nonetheless.

A Dispatch reader suggests “the only way to stop court/field storming is to suspend the offending school from that season’s postseason play, either the conference tourney/championship game and/or any bowl game/NCAA March Madness. It’s the only quick, decisive, permanent solution.”

At first, I thought that idea was too strong, but then I wondered what happens when an athlete is more seriously injured during the “running of the bullsh, er, manure.” Dropping the hammer may be what is needed to teach some hard lessons.

Last thing: I am not opposed to “safe” court storming, if such a thing is able to happen (I have my doubts), once players have left the court or field. But let’s limit the celebrations to actual humongous moments. Duke was ranked No. 8 before unranked Wake Forest won.

If that makes me a party pooper, so be it. Better that than lamenting a torn ACL or broken leg from a court storming collision.

Athletes own their space. Not fans.

Should Jake Diebler have interim label removed?

When wondering what it would take for Ohio State interim coach Jake Diebler to be named head coach permanently, I think back to Luke Fickell running the football team after Jim Tressel’s forced resignation in 2011.

Diebler is 2-1 since replacing Chris Holtmann on Feb. 14, including a win against No. 2 Purdue and Sunday’s 60-57 win at Michigan State, the first time the Buckeyes had won at the Breslin Center in 12 years. Beating Sparty also snapped a school-record 17-game losing streak in road games.

Fickell was 3-1 through September before the unranked Buckeyes lost their next two games, to unranked Michigan State and at No. 14 Nebraska. Ohio State rebounded with three consecutive wins, including against No. 16 Illinois and No. 12 Wisconsin, but Fickell’s chances ended with four straight losses to close the season.

In hindsight, the Buckeyes likely would have needed to finish 12-1, with wins over Michigan and in a bowl game, for Fickell to retain the job. Even then, Urban Meyer was waiting in the wings.

I put Diebler’s chances of being named permanent head coach at 10% or less, not because I don’t think he’s a good coach but because a) new athletic director Ross Bjork wants someone with head coaching experience; and b) I don’t see OSU winning more than two more games the rest of the season, though I hope I’m wrong, because it would make Bjork’s decision more interesting.

What would happen if the Buckeyes won their last three regular-season games – Nebraska, Michigan and Rutgers – then win at least three in the Big Ten Tournament? Unfortunately for Diebler, I’d only increase his odds to 25%. He needs to make the NCAA Tournament to shed the interim tag, and that only happens if Ohio State earns an automatic bid by winning the conference tourney title. I’m not sure that makes him a lock to win the job, but it would put him in the hunt. And deservedly so.

Listening in

“I love fighting. I love two roaches that fight. Anything that fights.” – Mike Tyson, watching a PFL mixed martial arts fight.

Off-topic

Where do you stand on anyone older than 21 wearing a team jersey in public (not including at sporting events)? Does it look stylish? Silly? To each his own? I’m not a big fan of it. Chime in.

roller@dispatch.com

@rollerCD

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Caitlin Clark not only victim of college basketball court storming