The three standout performers from Duke basketball team scrimmages
By Matt Giles
Which three Duke basketball players put on the best show in scrimmage play?
Per Duke basketball assistant Nate James, sophomore stretch-four Matthew Hurt dinged his knee last week during the team’s first official intrasquad battle in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Presumably, this explains why the former five-star didn’t play in the second, and final, Blue-White get-together on Friday night (all the scrimmage highlights are at the end of this article).
Naturally, this means Hurt was not one of the three standout performers from the combined scrimmage sessions. Yet based on the praise the Minnesota native has drawn from coaches and teammates alike in regards to his bulked-up frame and impressive overall game in practices, chances are he would have found his way on this list had he been on the floor for both outings.
In fact, as James was the most recent to imply, Hurt looks to be Duke’s closest thing to an absolute lock for a starting job on Nov. 25 — assuming, of course, the knee is all good to go — when the 2020-21 Blue Devils begin their regular season at home against Gardner-Webb (yes, only 11 more days until Duke basketball junkies get their fix again, albeit minus fans in the stands).
But enough about Hurt. This list is about the three who took part in both scrimmages and shined throughout, both on paper and on camera. We’ll examine one at a time, in no particular order. Let’s begin with one of two freshmen who made the cut here…