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The storming of NCAA basketball courts has become a trend that not everyone is willing to tolerate, especially if it puts players at risk. On the contrary, people like radio host Dan Dakich believe that it is not a big deal, since the solution is very simple.
The controversy surrounding this phenomenon was reignited this weekend when fans stormed the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum court after the Wake Forest Demon Deacons’ 83-79 victory over the Duke Blue Devils. The human avalanche left Kyle Filipowski injured.
The Blue Devils center suffered an injured knee after being run over by a fan. The player claims that several fans began to surround him and then he received an intentional blow to the back, but the authorities considered it an accident.
Given this, analysts like Jay Bilas asked the authorities to take a tough line to stop the court-storming. The ESPN commentator said the only way to stop court invasions is to cite or even arrest the invaders. Dakich and others disagree with Bilas.
ESPN just showed a new angle of the court-storming at Wake Forest where Duke's Kyle Filipowski was injured. Can clearly see where he hurts his knee as a fan taunts him while racing to midcourt. Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/ABAsKC2kTI
— Kyle Boone (@kyletheboone) February 24, 2024
Dan Dakich’s solution
The former head coach of Bowling Green State University considered that it is not necessary to go that far. In an interview with TMZ Sports, Dakich said, « The biggest deterrent is you get the cops, big bright jackets. You surround the [losing] team, and no one’s coming. »
Teams, the commentator said, will have to prepare in advance when they know that a game is high risk and if they fail to do so, then they should receive a fine and not just any fine. « You’ve got to make it hurt. You’ve got to make it a million, » Dakich proposed.
He explained that the police officers would allow the students to celebrate their teams’ important moments, while also keeping the players, especially those on the visiting team, safe.
It’s not that big of a deal, says Dakich
In his days with Bowling Green, Dakich also suffered an injury to one of his players during a court invasion. Despite this, the former coach is opposed to more extreme methods.
Dakich downplayed the Filipowski incident, saying, « There’s like a 10 court-stormings a month. One time a Dukie tweaks an ankle, and we’re out of our minds! »
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