The NCAA Tournament always coughs up unexpected icons.
Drew Timme and his facial hair gained cult-like status in recent years, while DJ Burns captured countless hearts and imaginations in last year’s edition of the Big Dance.
But now there’s a new March Madness legend on the horizon, and he goes by the name of Kyler Filewich.
Born in Winnipeg, Canada, Filewich is a 6-foot-9, 250-pound senior centre for the Wofford Terriers.
He began his collegiate career at Southern Illinois University, where he earned a spot on the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman Team in the 2020-21 season.
After transferring to Wofford, Filewich continued to excel, leading the team in rebounding during the 2023-24 season with an average of 8.8 rebounds per game, ranking fifth in the Southern Conference.
He also contributed 9.4 points and 3.4 assists per game, showcasing his versatility on the court.
More recently, the Winnipeg native was named MVP of the NCAA’s Southern Conference tournament after racking up 39 points, 24 rebounds and eight assists over three games as his Wofford squad won the conference title.
Filewich’s performances secured the Terriers’ spot in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, but the majority of fans didn’t really care about that.
They were more concerned with his ‘granny-style’ free-throw shooting technique.
Instead of steadily lifting the ball over his head for a regular overhand attempt, Filewich squats, brings the just above his knees and flicks it up at the net.
The unusual technique is throwback to a bygone era of basketball, when the likes of NBA stars Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry also shot underarm free-throws.
“I grip the ball, take a deep breath, get set and flick forward,” Filewich explained to The State.
Footage of Filewich’s attempts from the stripe went viral over the weekend, with fans lauding his unusual technique.
“In just 10-11 short days he’s going to be an American hero,” posted one fan.
“Knew from the second I saw this on Twitter that he was gonna be tournament bound,” another added.
“Rick Barry is smiling,” a third wrote.
Interestingly, Filewich recently spent eight hours training with the now 80-year-old Barry.
The former Warriors star played 14 seasons in The Association and was a 12-time All-Star. In 2021, he was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Barry is famous for his unorthodox underhand free throw technique. It may look out of place in today’s game, but nobody could say it wasn’t effective.
When he retired in 1980, Barry had the best free-throw shooting percent in NBA history, an incredible 89.3 percent.
“It was amazing. It was a huge blessing, huge honour. He’ll check in after games and see how the free throws are feeling.
“I’m super thankful for him. It was an awesome experience,” Filewich said of getting to work with Barry.
A change was clearly needed as Filewich previously made just 29.6 per cent of his attempts through 23 games. He also missed 14 in a row at one point this season.
However, after switching to Barry’s style, Filewich made 13 of 33 free throws to end the regular season.
During the NCAA’s Southern Conference tournament, he went just five of 17 attempts from the free-throw line, including 3-for-7 in the 92-85 win over Furman in the final — so clearly there’s still work to be done.
“What we were doing was not working at the rate we would like for it to,” Wofford coach Dwight Perry told Fox Carolina. “You can either do the same thing and bash your head against the wall, or you can try to improve.”
The youngster is well aware that some fans might mock him for his old-fashioned technique.
But he insists he isn’t fazed, claiming it’s all about winning rather than ‘looking cool’.
“I put my ego aside. Winning is more important to me than looking cool or whatever. So, I’m willing to do it,” he said.
Filewich and the Wofford Terriers will now appear on the national stage.
The March Madness schedule will be announced on Selection Sunday — Sunday, March 16 — before the first round of games begin later that week.
