Three most important Duke basketball players for 2020-2021 success

Three key 2020-21 Duke basketball players: Matthew Hurt

This was a tough one, and I considered Jeremy Roach and Jalen Johnson. Upon further thought, though, I’m thinking Johnson will get his, no matter what, and Jeremy Roach has senior leader Jordan Goldwire to help him navigate the waters in the backcourt. Enter Mr. Matthew Hurt.

If you asked me during the early stages of last season, I’d say it was a sure thing Matthew Hurt was going pro. He’s athletic, competitive, and is the prototypical shooting big man the NBA is predicated upon these days.

There were some games it felt like Hurt couldn’t miss, and he was an absolute nightmare for opposing defenses. His Larry Bird-like two-handed shot released quickly off the hands and just died beautifully on the rim.

ACC play has a way of humbling folks, though, and Hurt was no different. Once the calendar flipped to 2020, Hurt became streaky and looked lost on some plays. He seemed too slow to cover quicker bigs and too weak to body up traditional post monsters.

This resulted in him being buried on the bench down the stretch run of the season. Combine that with the emergence of Justin Robinson — I’ll forever be sad we didn’t get to see what he might have done in the postseason — and Hurt made the decision to return to Duke for his sophomore campaign.

All that stuff aside, I think Matthew Hurt is going to be a force for this entire season. Ball Durham recently reported Hurt’s father saying he’s bulked up to about 240 pounds and put up 50,000 shots during his time at home.

I think the pine made Hurt want this badly, and that’s great news for Duke. Whether it’s Grant Hill, Shane Battier, Kyle Singler, or Justise Winslow, the Blue Devils require a stretch-four to effectively run Mike Krzyzewski’s drive-and-kick offense.