Duke basketball: 3 remaining needs for 2021-22 Blue Devils
By Matt Giles
Duke basketball’s remaining 2021-22 needs: A returning starter down low
Simply put, it is imperative — at least when it comes to starting out with bonafide title hopes — that either Mark Williams or Matthew Hurt returns to the Duke basketball program next season.
Hurt, who earned All-ACC First Team honors after averaging 18.3 points and 6.1 rebounds as a sharpshooting stretch-four sophomore, seems like the least likely of the two to do so. That said, the longer he holds out before announcing his plans, the more hope breeds among the Duke basketball fanbase.
Besides, Hurt’s name still doesn’t show up in every mock draft out there.
Williams, meanwhile, saw sparse action early on in his freshman year yet played like arguably the group’s MVP in the final few weeks of the 13-11 campaign, earning a starting nod in each of the Blue Devils’ final 11 games.
Now, Williams may actually be the better pro prospect of the two. In addition to his unteachable height and wingspan, the 7-foot, 245-pound center regularly exhibited a high IQ, soft touch, and skilled footwork around the rim. With all that in mind, despite his name not popping up too often in the draft discussion just yet, some folks worry he too may opt for an immediate pro career.
That brings us to this next related need…