Duke Basketball: Blue Devils land top-10 overall recruit Matthew Hurt

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 24: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils celebrates with RJ Barrett #5 and Tre Jones #3 against the UCF Knights during the first half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Rinse and repeat, Duke Basketball gets another five-star recruit to join their program. This time it’s top-10 overall prospect Matthew Hurt, a forward who should make a big impact next season.

The recruitment of Matthew Hurt came to an end on Friday when the five-star power forward committed to coach Mike Krzyzewski and Duke Basketball. Hurt made his announcement in front of friends and family at John Marshall Senior High in Rochester, Minnesota.

Duke first offered Hurt in July of 2017 and they have been recruiting him ever since. He took an unofficial visit to Durham in October 2017 and took his official in January of this year. Kansas was home to Hurt’s last official visit in February.

Hurt, the No. 10 player in the class according to ESPN, was down to Duke, Kentucky, and Kansas before selecting the Blue Devils. Hurt had in-home visits scheduled this week with Kentucky and Kansas, but he canceled them on Sunday signifying that his recruitment was over.

In typical Duke fashion, the Blue Devils have reloaded for the 2019-2020 season. Hurt joins a recruiting class that features the No. 2 overall player Vernon Carey along with five-star Wendell Moore and four star Boogie Ellis. Bringing back former five-star point guard Tre Jones, Krzyzewski has Duke primed to be a top ten team again.

The Blue Devils aren’t done adding either. Five-star wing Cassius Stanley is expected to make his college decision soon and all indicators point to Stanley selecting the Blue Devils as well. Arizona currently has the number one class for 2019, but adding Hurt and Stanley to Duke’s already impressive class would likely give them the best incoming group. It would be the fourth straight year Duke has the highest rated freshman class.

Next. Way-too-early ACC power rankings for 2019-20. dark

In Hurt, the Blue Devils are getting a traditional power forward that can really stretch the floor which is something they have not had as of late. Previous Duke teams have used more athletic players at the power forward spot like Marvin Bagley, Jabari Parker, Jayson Tatum and most recently Zion Williamson. Hurt’s outside prowess combined with Vernon Carey’s sheer size inside (275 pounds to go with his 6’10 frame), should give Duke one of the best frontcourts in the country next year.

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