Matthew Hurt declares for draft, will hire agent

Expected and I hope he gets drafted. The kid can score the ball from anywhere on the court. I hope he develops into a serviceable defender in the NBA. If he does, he could play for a long time.
 
Thank you!

Great decision by Matthew Hurt. He wasn't going to get faster or more athletic with another year at Duke.

He led the ACC is scoring and was 1st Team All-ACC. Can't ask for much more than that.

I believe he made the right move by declaring. Sucks for Duke fans, but best move for Hurt.

Best of luck! Hope you land on a team that needs 3pt shooting!
 
No real surprise here. He was a 1st-Team All-ACC player, and his limitations weren't likely to get addressed in college anyway. And next year was going to be a crowd, making this perhaps his best chance to strike while the iron is hot.

It sucks for him that he didn't get an NCAA tournament appearance, due largely to COVID. But, not much one can do about that.

Best wishes to him as he realizes his dream of playing in the NBA!
 
Considering his age and the uncertain opportunity to develop more next year- going pro to learn that game is probably not the worst decision. He will be able to focus full time on his body and game. All that said- he can shoot and shooting is a key skill set at the next level. If the NBA does not work out- he can probably make some cash overseas.
 
I agree with others, it's the best decision for him.

It does hurt Duke pretty significantly. This departure is what will keep Duke from being a true NCAA Championship contender. They can still be a very good basketball team but I'm not near as confident as I would be with Mattew still on the roster.
 
Man. I know we all expected it but with how long the decision was taking I thought, like others, that maybe there was a chance. Should’ve known better.

This makes all the conversations about how we fit Hurt in with Banchero and Williams for naught. Next year’s squad is now noticeably less talented, but perhaps more cohesive.

The question now is whether the staff feels Henry can be the primary backup big or whether a dip into the portal is required. I think most of us think it’s the latter, although I’m not gonna underestimate his potential given the sparks he showed last year.

I still think that this team has great potential if there are no further unexpected departures and we add some bench depth in the portal. Even without the latter our ceiling is high given the freshman talent and the potential of a second year Mark Williams.
 
jamos14 said:
I agree with others, it's the best decision for him.

It does hurt Duke pretty significantly. This departure is what will keep Duke from being a true NCAA Championship contender. They can still be a very good basketball team but I'm not near as confident as I would be with Mattew still on the roster.
Click to expand...

Yes- Duke is a fragile team at the moment.
 
Figures. Doesn’t surprise me though, good luck and best wishes to him. Sorry he didn’t get to experience March madness. Wonder if there is any chance Baldwin comes now. I can hope, can’t I?
 
As expected--his stock will likely never be higher. His shooting percentages were excellent, and his weaknesses (length, quickness) were not things he could improve much with another season in college (especially when you balance that against being a year older).

Wishing him best of luck! Will need to improve a lot on defense to stick in the NBA, but his shooting will always be valuable.
 
Good luck to Hurt, I'm sure he will get drafted.

The improvement he made this year was tremendous (and rare). He was money with his shots. His 37-pt game vs. Louisville was stellar. I'll miss him.

9F
 
dukelifer said:
Yes- Duke is a fragile team at the moment.
Click to expand...

I’m a little puzzled by your comment, so maybe my response will draw some further comments from you to clarify.

I won’t claim K/staff/players should be super-confident going into ‘21-‘22, yet they will surely be somewhat optimistic. Williams might become quite a force at the 5. I assume his utter dominance in the ACCT v. UL was an outlier, but he was much-improved by season’s untimely end. Banchero looks a very real deal, and Griffin a likely starter. Maybe there’s enough uncertainty re the backcourt — handles, 3-bombs, decision-making — that fragility is accurate. It doesn’t “feel” that way to me, nor would I guess it’s the sense among players and coaches.
 
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