Why this Duke basketball forward gained 20 pounds ‘of muscle’ during the pandemic
Duke’s Matthew Hurt, like a lot of folks, said he has put on a few pounds during the pandemic.
Hurt does add a two-word caveat: “Of muscle.”
As a freshman at Duke last season, Hurt soon learned that going inside the paint to bang bodies often left him feeling, in a word, light. The 6-9 forward did weigh 220 pounds but that didn’t seem to be enough, especially in bruising ACC games.
So Hurt hit the weights soon after the 2019-20 season was abruptly called off in March because of the coronavirus. He returned to Duke in early August with the same shooting skills — the big kid can shoot the 3 — but with the determination to be more of an inside factor this season, defending and with the ball.
He’s 240 now, he said. Bigger, tougher, stronger. All that.
“I feel like it’s going to impact a big part of my game because a knock on me I was a little lighter,” Hurt said Tuesday in a media call. “Guarding the 4 (power forwards), people were trying to take advantage of me down low. But I feel like this year, especially on defense but also on offense, just attacking it, being stronger with the ball, taking contact and finishing over taller defenders.
“Just try to be in attack mode all game.”
The five-star recruit from Minnesota
That wasn’t the case last season. Hurt was a five-star recruit out of Rochester, Minn., but also found himself in Durham, a thousand miles from home, in a program with a Hall of Fame coach and players with just as a good a basketball pedigree. He admits to being a bit lost at first at Duke, like many college freshmen.
“Just navigating everything,” he said.
It showed in his game. There were times when Hurt was hitting his shot and streaky good, then very quiet games when No. 21 wasn’t very visible or effective while a Vernon Carey Jr. or Tre Jones or Wendell Moore Jr. were the Duke stars — Moore’s last-second putback to win at North Carolina was one of the season’s most memorable moments.
But then there was Duke’s game against Florida State. Hurt’s moment.
With 12 seconds left and the No. 7 Blue Devils protecting a 66-63 lead, Hurt fought through a physical boxout from FSU’s Patrick Williams and into the lane to grab an offensive rebound. Fouled on the play, he knocked down both one-and-one free throws to seal a win over the No. 8 Seminoles.
“Last year I don’t think I competed the way that I should and the way I’m capable,” Hurt said. “Little plays can add up to big plays. That was one of my best plays last year.”
That was two days after the emotional 98-96 overtime win at UNC. That was at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Hurt had 12 points in the game but his hustling rebound and his get-the-ball desire on the play showed another side of his competitiveness.
That’s what Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and the staff want to see more of this season from the sophomore.
“Last year didn’t go as expected for me but I think everyone has his own path,” Hurt said. “Just try to get better. That’s the main goal.”
Hurt said he worked on his lateral quickness, for example. All the better, he said, to guard smaller players if called on. He also worked on getting his shot off, as he put it, “a lot quicker.” He does plan to get his shots.
Hurt told to shoot lot of 3’s
“Just having an aggressive mindset,” he said. “Coach is telling me to shoot a lot of 3’s this year and just attack the rim and show I’m a versatile player.”
Hurt averaged 9.7 points a game last season, fourth-best on the team, and finished at 48.7 percent from the field. He was a 39.3 percent shooter on 3’s, hitting 42 of 107 from behind the arc, and shot 40.8 percent in ACC games from 3.
But that was last year. This is a new team and this year’s freshmen, Hurt said, have impressive individual skill sets, giving a quick scouting report on each:
Henry Coleman III (“Energy, rebounding, brings it every day), Mark Williams (“Shot blocker, can finish, really good lob threat”), Jalen Johnson (“Out in transition, very special”), Jaemyn Brakefield (“Really can shoot it, can defend, can drive”), DJ Steward (“Can really shoot, can really handle, really get to the rim”), Jeremy Roach (“Really good point guard, really calm.”)
As for Hurt, his plan for the new season is simple.
“Just be aggressive and try to be the best player on the court each time,” he said.
This story was originally published October 21, 2020 at 7:54 AM.
