Duke basketball hopeful draftees struggle on court at NBA Draft Combine

Two Duke basketball hopeful draftees have struggled at the NBA Draft Combine. 

There were just two Duke basketball players, who played with the Blue Devils for the entire season, that opted to leave Durham early for the 2021 NBA Draft, and there were serious questions around the games of Matthew Hurt and DJ Steward.

Those concerns are being highlighted at the NBA Draft Combine as both Hurt and Steward finally took the floor for some 5-on-5 action on Thursday evening.

Hurt was the first of the two Dukies to take the court in the first scrimmage of the day, and the 6-foot-9 forward came off the bench to play approximately 20 minutes in his team’s victory.

The Rochester, Minnesota native only posted two points on 1-of-4 shooting from the floor as he did not attempt a 3-pointer while registering five rebounds and only one foul and one turnover.

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Matthew Hurt made an incredible jump from his freshman to sophomore season at Duke, winning the ACC’s Most Improved Player Award and being named to the All-ACC First Team.

Hurt averaged 18.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 55.6-percent from the floor and 44.4-percent from 3-point range.

In his two seasons in college, Hurt’s limited athleticism and defensive prowess have led to questions concerning whether his game will translate to the next level. And if the forward is a bashful shooter at the next level, it could be a very brief stop in the NBA.

DJ Steward took the court in the second scrimmage of the day, and it was a poor shooting performance from the young guard.

Steward was in the starting lineup for his squad and saw 24 minutes of game action but was just 1-of-9 from the field and 0-for-3 from 3-point range.

The 6-foot-2 native of Chicago finished with just three points, four rebounds, and two assists.

DJ Steward struggled with shooting consistently in his lone season at Duke but managed to average 13.0 points per game on 42.6-percent shooting from the field and 34.1-percent from downtown.

Where could the Duke basketball duo land in the 2021 NBA Draft?

In the latest ESPN NBA Mock Draft, Jonathan Givony has Matthew Hurt being selected with the No. 47 overall pick by the Toronto Raptors while DJ Steward goes No. 55 to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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It seems as if both players will be second-round picks while estranged Blue Devil Jalen Johnson seems to be flirting with the lottery as Givony has him being selected with the No. 12 overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs.

The 2021 NBA Draft is scheduled for Thursday, July 29.