Matthew Hurt Signing 10-day contract with Memphis Grizzlies

And on Monday, it was announced the Memphis Grizzlies are signing him to 10-day contract via the ‘hardship’ clause. Either way, Hurt will finally get his chance in the National Basketball Association.

The Memphis Grizzlies are planning to sign forward Matt Hurt to a 10-day contract via hardship out of their G League Hustle affiliate, sources tell me and @KellyIko. Hurt is averaging 22.2 points and 7.4 rebounds in G League.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 29, 2024

As a freshman at Duke, Hurt averaged 9.7 points and 3.8 rebounds. In his final season (sophomore), he averaged 18.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, earning him ACC Most Improved Player and First-Team All-ACC. He then opted to enter the 2021 NBA Draft… but never heard his name called.

Related: Matthew Hurt: The Greatest Minnesota High School Basketball Player Ever.

Hurt signed a 2-way contract with the Houston Rockets on August 13, 2021, but never played a minute in Houston or for G-League affiliate, Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Instead, he was waived by the Rockets on September 24, 2021, prior to the start of training camp.

On October 14, he was signed by the Memphis Grizzlies, only to be waived two days later, then signed to their G-League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle. He didn’t register any stats in 2021, but that changed one year later, in 2022-23, when Hurt played in 28 regular season games, and averaged 15 points and 4 rebounds.

Hurt re-signed with the Memphis Grizzlies this offseason, only to be waived two weeks later. When no other teams came calling, he signed back on with the Hustle on October 30, and he’s dominated ever since.

Matthew Hurt was untouchable at John Marshall

Hurt played varsity as a freshman at Rochester John Marshall high school and, by his junior year in 2017–18, he was averaging 33.9 points, 15.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 4.3 blocks per game, leading his team to a remarkable 26–3 record and a spot in the section title game.

As a senior, he somehow got better, averaging 36.8 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game, which earned him the prestigious title of Minnesota Mr. Basketball and a spot in the 2019 McDonald’s All-American Game.

Getting to see high school Matthew Hurt play in person was pretty incredible, He’s by far the best high school player I’ve seen live. He used to sellout high school gyms all over the state.

Here's a look at Matthew Hurt's 46 point, 17 rebound performance today for Rochester John Marshall. RJM beat Lakeville South 75-72 at the Breakdown Boys Tip-Off Classic in Hopkins. pic.twitter.com/moFeKglJnZ

— KSTPSports (@KSTPSports) December 9, 2017

Related: Shocker: Matthew Hurt Chooses Duke

Hurt chose Duke over other blue blood offers from North Carolina, Kentucky, and Kansas. He had a five-star consensus rating and easily considered a top-25 high school prospect in the 2019 class.

Matthew Hurt has undoubtedly earned an opportunity after showcasing his skills in high school and then transitioning to the G League. With his impressive performance, another player with ties to Minnesota joins the league.

First and foremost, I’d like to acknowledge a few of Minnesota’s great High School players. NBA Hall of Famer Kevin McHale, UCONN great and Minneapolis North hero Khalid El-Amin, Lawrence McKenzie, Royce White, Tyus and Tre Jones, and before my time players Mark Olberding, Jim McIntyre, and Randy Breuer. All worthy of contention of best ever players.

Since Matthew Hurt was a thin, yet mature 8th grade basketball player, he’s been on the Varsity team. Statistically, he’s the best Minnesota High School Basketball player ever, no context reviewed. For context, Hurt scored 3,745 points, state record for Big schools, averaging nearly 37 a game as a Senior, and 35 as a Junior.

strong>More context: he shot 64% from the floor and 41% from 3 in 2018-19, his Senior Year. Hurt wasn’t a high volume chucker who scored because he shot a lot. He did shoot a lot, however he was efficient. During 2018-19 he took 562 field goals (FGs) and 212 free throws (FT) during the regular season, 26 games. That’s 21.6 shots per game. In his 2 50+ scoring games, 52 point vs Faribault, Hurt shot 27 shots and 55 point game vs Winona he took just 21 shots (25 free throws).

Matthew Hurt (@HurtMatthew) vs Winona 2019

Hurt stats, 55 pts, 11 rebs, 7 assists, 9 steals pic.twitter.com/EB1WfMliCL

— StreetHistory (Ryan S) (@streethistory) September 30, 2019

Need even more context to his scoring abilities? During Hurt’s senior year he scored 40+ points 14 times and broke 50 points twice. Routinely, Hurt was double-teamed whenever he had the ball, and even guarded by 3, sometimes 4 defenders.

Hurt isn’t just a scorer, he has all-around game. He averaged 15 boards a game as a Junior, 12 as a Senior, and grabbed 1,439 rebounds total for his high school career, the Big school Minnesota State record.

As a Senior, he averaged more than 5 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. In 14 games, he produced at least 5 assists and vs Red Wing, he tallied 10 dimes but missed a triple double by one rebound. In total, he had 32 points, 9 boards, 10 assists and 7 steals that night. Hurt did put up a triple double in Rochester JM’s first section game vs Rochester Century, posting a line of 41/12/10.

Red Wing Highlights

Matthew Hurt (@HurtMatthew) vs Red Wing 2/8/2019

The @DukeMBB commit dropped 46 points, grabbed 13 boards, 6 assists, 3 stls and 4 blks.@NorthstarHoops @PrepHoops @mnbasketballhub pic.twitter.com/LKnDU8sqn4

— StreetHistory (Ryan S) (@streethistory) August 24, 2019

Hurt excelled playing AAU for D1 Minnesota’s top 17U team from age 14 until 17, in the Adidas Gauntlet Series. His last year playing with D1MN, Hurt led the team to the championship vs the Compton Magic, but they lost in overtime.

The final year on the Gauntlet, Hurt averaged 17 points and shot 58% from the floor and 48% from 3, in 11 reported games. That Adidas Gauntlet team featured Stanford committed PG Tyrell Terry, Arizona BIG Zeke Nnaji, and Wisconsin committed forward Tyler Wahl.

He was named Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball, a McDonald’s All-American, played for Team USA U18 team (who won gold), and was a consensus Top 10 player nationally. He was hotly pursued by Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, and home state team Minnesota before selecting Duke in April. There is some assumption that he will play only one year of College basketball before he heads to the NBA. Hurt is currently projected, by ESPN NBA Mock, as a Top 15 pick in the 2020 Draft.

TEAM USA HIGHLIGHTS

Hurt will walk away from High School basketball with some criticism, because he never made it to a Minnesota State High School Tournament. Rochester JM was never able to surpass the dominant immovable object section opponent, that is Lakeville North. Lakeville North beat Rochester JM all five of the years Hurt played Varsity basketball. North finished twice runner-up to Hopkins at state, ended up in the third place game twice, and consolation tournament once, in those 5 years. It’s is a top-10 Boys Basketball program in Minnesota.

Using JM’s inability to advance to the state tourney, as why Matthew Hurt isn’t the best Minnesota High School player ever, is shortsighted. It doesn’t quantify the talented teams and players Hurt competed against. Look at some of the talent that came through Mn during Hurt’s high school career: Tre Jones, Tyus Jones, McKinley Wright, Ezekiel Nnaji, Daniel Oturu, Ryan Larsen, Theo John, and Tyler Wahl. All of these players made it to state or won state titles, with strong supporting casts.

Matthew Hurt (@HurtMatthew) of Rochester John Marshall 2018-19 High School Basketball Highlights

The 2019 Senior won Mr. Basketball while averaging 36.8/12.4/5/2/2. Scored more than 40 14 times. 50 twice. Scored 30 in game but 6.

Full: https://t.co/gKDO55ZGnz pic.twitter.com/r01QvuGKwh

— StreetHistory (Ryan S) (@streethistory) August 24, 2019

Street History | Minnesota Sports Fan

In a shock to absolutely nobody, Matthew Hurt sat down at John Marshall High School this afternoon and named Duke as the University where he’ll play one season before he jumps to the NBA (jump to the 15 minute mark for the announcement).

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I’m sick of every top kid leaving and everyone state-wide applauding them and kissing feet and hands while they walk out the door to bring wins somewhere else.

“Yay! Great job! Thanks for leaving us here, fucked! We don’t want to make deep runs in the NCAA tournament! Duke REALLY needs you!”

Call me an asshole if you want to. I’m done praising kids who leave. Blame Pitino or the state or whatever. At the end of the day, where is all of that MN pride we’re all supposed to have so much of? 

You could have been a hero here and set a future example for kids statewide. “Hero” isn’t even a strong enough word. To kids around Minnesota… you’d be a god. Instead, you’re just another one-and-done at Duke.

 I’m not wasting another breath for another kid who doesn’t have time for us.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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Alright, so I’m going to try my best to keep this post short. There is a lot going on in Minnesota Sports this morning that I want to touch on some other things before it’s over. However, this topic has me going..

Matthew Hurt is a top-10 national basketball recruit for 2019 and he plays in Rochester, MN at John Marshall High School. He was named to the McDonald’s All-American Team on Thursday.

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McDonald’s rosters announced on ESPN. Congratulations to all! The real work begins now! ⛹?‍♂️@McDAAG ? pic.twitter.com/qtjMv8MYRk

— Paul Biancardi (@PaulBiancardi) January 24, 2019

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Matthew Hurt is a phenom like we are yet to see in Minnesota. Before you start yelling at me, don’t take that sentiment in a negative tone toward any of the other top basketballers to come out of the great state of Minnesota. It’s nothing on them.

Matthew Hurt is just a different kind of star. His length paired with his dynamic set of skills is hard to find nation-wide. Hurt can run the point and usually does for Rochester – John Marshall. At 6-9 I’m not sure I’ve ever seen someone his age handle the ball like he does. It looks so natural and smooth… If you ask him, he doesn’t play a specific position. Don’t try to fit this kid into a box. he doesn’t fit.

Do you want a comparison? How about a white Kevin Durant? You decide…

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Oddly, Hurt is the only participant in the McDonald’s Classic that is yet to commit to a college for 2019. A projected “one and done” Hurt still has the Gophers on his list. We’ve seen that before, though. Does the delay mean he’s actually considering his hometown Gophers?

Not if you ask Ryan James of GopherIllustrated.com… Nobody is more plugged in than Ryan.

Does Matthew have interest in playing for Minnesota? Yes. Would he love to play with his brother? Yes. Would his family love for him to be a Gopher? Yes. But at the moment it just doesn’t seem like Hurt to Minnesota has a decent chance of happening.

I’m not mad at Matt and he’s not the only one opting to leave. Look at both Jones’ brothers right in front of him. How about his many 2019 elite basketball classmates, who ranked in the top-100 nationally?

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Why is it so hard to choose Minnesota?

That’s what I continue to wonder. The Gophers have a good enough core and will be adding important new pieces next year, especially two young PG transfers — Marcus Carr – Pitt (ACC), Payton Willis – Vandy (SEC) — who already have major conference experience. Even without Hurt, I’d expect the Gophers to be a top-25 team. They’d be a top-10 team if they added Matt. 

Why isn’t being a hometown hero more desirable? You can go to Kansas and Duke and North Carolina. You will never be the greatest at those schools. You are very unlikely to even be remembered unless you win a National Title. They are never going to build statues for you. As a one-and-done player, you’ll never get your name in the rafters…

If Hurt were to stay home, he’d be the most popular figure in all of Minnesota. The Minnesotan who turned down the blue-bloods to try and bring his Gophers a Final Four. The guy who took it upon himself to raise Minnesota to basketball heights it hasn’t seen since 199—- oops… ever. We are BEGGING to retire another number so we can stop going back to before pictures had color… 

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If you do the unthinkable and win –gasp– a National Title in Minnesota, you’re a hero forever. Every kid in the state would want to be you. 

And if you are confident in yourself and you believe the Gophers can be successful with your help, then your draft profile will only be heightened by picking here. Nobody will question the character or playing level of someone who put his home-state on his back and carried them to their first Final Four since 199—- oops…. ever.

Again, I’m not pissed off at Matthew Hurt because I don’t live in his head. It’s possible these things don’t arouse Matt like they do me. I just wonder WHY those things don’t intrigue top in-state products more often…

Most kids I knew/know dream of winning in Maroon and Gold… but then again, none of those kids are getting offers from Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, and Kentucky either.. so there’s that.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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In case your head is emerging from the sand it’s sat in since the weekend, Richard Pitino and the Gopher basketball team took a huge first step in an extremely important 2019 class on Monday:

Tray Jackson is a great get but, if all goes well, he will only be the beginning of a class that could someday land Richard Pitino a statue in the middle of campus and maybe a street or two named after him as well. According to 247Sports, the Gophers currently have 9 players under scholarship for 2019 with Tray. A maximum of 13 scholarship players can be rostered on a NCAA D1 Basketball team. In case math is difficult for you, that means Richard has 4 scholarships remaining for that class, if he chooses to fill them all.

Look, Pitino has already established himself as the best Gopher basketball recruiter of the internet age (just like his bestie over at TCF Bank Stadium). Tubby Smith had some good gets back in his day too, but they never panned out. Is that due to overrated recruits or a lack of coaching ability once they got here? Who knows. I don’t really care. The past is the past. The Gopher future looks bright.

For now, let’s focus on who Richard is pursuing for 2019.

As you can see above, Tray Jackson is already in the top-8 of highest-rated recruits to commit to Minnesota since the internet age, at 247Sports. But, Pitino still has his eyes on plenty of talent that remains available. The two biggest ones are Minnesota kids:

Matthew Hurt is the pride of Minnesota High School basketball right now. He’s being courted HARD by all of the blue bloods like Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, Villanova, etc, etc, etc… You name them, if Matthew has shown any interest, he’s gotten an offer. At this point, the Gophers seem like an underdog but do not underestimate the fact that his brother Michael already plays on the team, and will be a senior when Matthew is a freshman. Both have talked about how special it would be to play together again like they got to for a year at John Marshall in Rochester, MN.

No matter who lands Hurt, he’s likely to only be on campus for one season. He’s already proclaimed himself a “one-and-done” college basketball player.

Zeke Nnaji has climbed up the recruiting rankings over the last few months but is now seen as one of the better players out there, receiving scholarship offers from a lot of the big schools that Matthew has. If Pitino can find a way to land Matthew Hurt and Zeke Nnaji….. wow. Yes, the Gophers would immediately become a National Title contender.

To land Hurt, Pitino’s 2018 squad needs to play well early.

We need to hope Matthew sees a successful 2019 on the horizon, where he can play with Michael, and have a chance to become the biggest legend in Minnesota basketball since Bobby Jackson. Obviously, Matthew knows all of this. The question remains, however; is that something he wants? If so, is it worth turning down all of the blue-bloods to stay home and be that mythical figure? We’ll see.

Even if Hurt and Nnaji don’t stay home, Pitino and his staff are currently “warm” (according to 247Sports) with some out-of-state 4-star prospects. Landing 2-3 of them to round out the class would make this by-far the best class to arrive on campus….ever, even without Hurt.

Also, keep your eyes out for one more Minnesota-native. David Roddy isn’t getting the run that some of his Minnesota counterparts are, but he is much more than the 3-star you see on most sites currently. He has waivered on whether he will play basketball or football, where he also holds multiple D1 offers. Roddy had a really good EYBL Circuit this summer for Howard Pulley.

SCROLL DOWN AND SUBSCRIBE FOR EMAILS WHEN MINNESOTA SPORTS FAN POSTS TO THE WEBSITE! YOU CAN’T TRUST FACEBOOK OR TWITTER TO SHOW YOU THESE DAYS! SO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE AND SUBSCRIBE, SUBSCRIBE, SUBSCRIBE! 

ALSO, COMMENT BELOW AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK 2019 WILL LOOK LIKE WHEN ALL OF THE DUST SETTLES!

Eric Strack
Minnesota Sports Fan @RealMNSportsFan

Happy Friday night fam! You finally made it to the weekend.

Unless you’re a weekend warrior.. If that’s the case, hopefully you had a good week… and I’m glad I’m not you.

There’s lots to talk about tonight and we’ll be touching on a lot of Vikings and Fantasy Football Sunday night when No Shirts, Just Skins makes its dramatic return! But, before we get there, let’s talk about a little Gopher Basketball news that dropped earlier today. With all of the Vikings’ Training Camp and Randy Moss HOF induction ceremonies taking place, things like this can fall through the cracks.

Luckily, you have me.

One thing is for sure. If this actually falls the way of the Gophers, it will DEFINITELY be big news:

#Gophers to seek waiver to make transfer Marcus Carr immediately eligible. @Marcus_R_Fuller has details: https://t.co/hhwpUImriv pic.twitter.com/hJWXCC7vP6

— Star Tribune Sports (@StribSports) August 3, 2018

For those of you who have had your head in the purple sand all summer while you waited for Vikings season to start, Carr transferred away from Pittsburgh this offseason when the Pitt coach, Kevin Stallings was fired. He then committed to the Gophers in May and it was rumored the Gophers may apply for the exemption, given Carr had just finished his Freshman year before Stallings was flushed down the steel toilets.

Marcus would be a HUGE addition to the Gopher lineup this season. In Marcus Fuller’s story from the tweet embedded above, he mentions the impact that Carr is already making on his teammates:

From reports on summer practice, it sounds like Carr has made an immediate impression as far as having a great attitude, strong work ethic and gets along well with his teammates. He’s not known as a three-point shooter, but he’s held his own in shooting contests with Michael Hurt, Gabe Kalscheur and Washington after practices.

As a Freshman last year in Pittsburgh, Carr got really big minutes and was able to stick out. His stat line is impressive:

With a backcourt that has left us all crossing our fingers as we enter 2018-19, Carr would allow fans to exhale slightly. With Nate Mason graduating, we are left with Isaiah Washington as the offensive engineer going forward, who needs to (and I expect him to) take a big step forward. Hopefully we’ll see a different player after a year of adjusting from the street ball style of New York to the much more polished and defensively disciplined style of the Big Ten. Luckily, Dupree McBrayer has a year left to help the adjustment process. Beyond that, the team will rely on Freshmen Gabe Kalscheur and Jarvis Omersa, along with Grad-Transfer Brock Stull.

Don’t get your hopes up either, landing the exception for Carr seems like a bit of a long shot, by the way it all sounds. However, it’s not like every coach around the country is applying for this exception for all of their transfer students. If it was a 0% chance, they wouldn’t be applying, right?

– That brings me to another topic that Fuller touched on in recent days. Richard Pitino still has one scholarship left for 2018 after Matz Stockman transferred a month ago. NOBODY really has any idea (including himself) on what he’ll do with it.

– Matthew Hurt Update: We also heard earlier this week from the Hurt family out of Rochester, MN, as we wait for Matthew (one of the highest rated high school basketball players to ever come out of Minnesota), to make his college decision. I’ve said it before and I will say it again. Landing Matthew Hurt would be big enough to build a statue for Richard Pitino right now. This is a legitimate one-and-done who has the ability to change the entire landscape of the college he goes to. If he decides to make that his home University, then Pitino has already delivered on his coaching duties to a level that no coach has LEGALLY reached in this program’s history.

In other words, it would be a big deal.

Eric Strack
Minnesota Sports Fan (@RealMNSportsFan)

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Despite still having not one, not two, but three open scholarships for next year, we’re gathered here today because of a special 2019 Minnesota basketball recruit:

Richard Pitino will have an in-home visit with five-star @JMRocketsBBB 2019 forward Matthew Hurt on Wednesday morning. #Gophers pic.twitter.com/gbDrEWccwu

— Marcus R. Fuller (@Marcus_R_Fuller) April 18, 2018

As indicated by Matthew Hurt’s handful of stars (he’s a 5-Star prospect if you didn’t follow that), Richard Pitino’s meeting with the Rochester native Wednesday morning (earlier today) isn’t a typical recruiting visit. Currently, ESPN’s Recruiting Database has the John Marshall High School basketball player ranked as the 5th best prospect in the 2019 class.

To help put the 6’9” PF’s hoops prowess into perspective, his 95 overall grade is sandwiched between those of Tyus (97) and Tre (93) Jones. During the 2017-18 campaign, Hurt posted a video game esque per game average of 34.1 points, 14.3 rebounds, and 4.3 blocks.

via GIPHY

Oh, and by the way, 247Sports appreciates Matthew Hurt’s dominance a bit more than ESPN. They rank him as a .9986, which would put him ahead of BOTH Jones’ Brothers (barely).

When “keeping up with the Jones’ isn’t good enough:

In addition to his hometown roots, Matthew Hurt’s older brother, Michael, just finished his sophomore season (3.2 PPG, 2,5 RPG) with coach Pitino’s squad. While the family ties are encouraging, I wouldn’t get too excited:

Class of 2019 standout Matthew Hurt hosting a string of blue bloods for home visits: https://t.co/CREZ8TQgmi

— Michael Duncan (@ohhoopslive) April 16, 2018

The above-referenced article starts off by touching on seven different college hoop programs:

In an interview from last Thursday, Hurt referred to those top-tier programs as the “main seven [schools] right now.” While that doesn’t seem to bode well for Minnesota, to be fair, in the same conversation, he stated that the Gophers are “up there too.”

To me, the fact the Maroon and Gold weren’t mentioned in that initial batch of schools is extremely telling. Hopefully, I’m looking too far into Hurt’s comments.

As of now, 247Sports lists Kansas as the front-runner to acquire the talented athlete’s services.However, coach Cal seems to be in a nice spot:

Matthew Hurt told @UKCoachCalipari that his goals are to win a national championship and to reach the NBA – in that order. His family likes Cal’s messaging and believe it fits Hurt “to a tee.” Watch out for Kentucky here, folks https://t.co/zP8VprYE3q

— Justin Rowland (@RowlandRIVALS) April 11, 2018

If Minnesota can somehow land Hurt, it would be a complete game changer. If they can’t, 2019’s class offers other talented Land of 10K Lakes options:

Grateful to have received an offer from the University of Minnesota ‼ pic.twitter.com/bKOgdN0GXX

— Tyrell Terry™ (@tyterry05) April 17, 2018

For further details on the De La Salle PG, click here: Tyrell Terry

Johnny Minnesota (@TheJohnnyMN)
MinnesotaSportsFan.com

Jordan Murphy is first Gopher with consecutive Big Ten player of week honors https://t.co/PZ9wj6QBRn pic.twitter.com/QBT5P7k4Qw

— StribGophersBB (@StribGophersBB) November 20, 2017

Congratulations Jordan! It must feel good to stand alone in Minnesota history. Someone contact the people at Guinnessworldrecords.com ASAP.

Only three other athletes in our program’s history have won the award twice in one season. Gophersports.com lists Kris Humphries, Joel Pryzbilla, and Quincy Lewis as the other talented two-time recipients. If Murphy won the first two weeks, you can reasonably expect him to win AT LEAST one more this season. Once that is accomplished, he’ll join Lewis as the only three-time recipients in one year.

Sports are like business. If you’re crushing, let your numbers do the talking. Talk to us, Jordan Murphy:

The San Antonio native has played out of his mind thus far. 3rd Team Big Ten last year must not have been enough. The Big Ten Player of the Week is averaging 24.8 PPG and 12.8 RPG, while shooting 61.4% from the floor. Murphy is on the fast track for 1st Team in 2017-2018. If he stays anywhere near these numbers, he’ll be a staple in the conferences POY conversations.

The Gophers Junior plays a hell of a lot bigger than you’d expect from his 6’6″ frame. That IS NOT a misprint. Both GopherSports.com and ESPN.com list Murphy at that size. Basketball players are notorious for adding a couple of inches to their actual height. It looks better when opponents and scouts are doing their research.

Are we doing the opposite here with Jordan Murphy? The young-man seems a lot taller than 6’6″ to me. Maybe he just plays like it.

At the end of the day, height is just a number. NBA scouts will pick it apart, but screw them. You know who else is 6’6″? Charles Barkley. An absolute rebounding machine at the pro-level. On the opposite side of this conversation is the 7’0″ Brook Lopez. As a starter last year in Brooklyn, he averaged 5.4 RPG. That’s an unacceptable number from a 28 year-old man with that kind of size. When it comes to rebounding, athleticism and tenacity trump height 7 days of the week.

Charles Barkley rebound right there. https://t.co/ZWfgryfbII

— Peter Stringer (@peterstringer) November 21, 2017

Murphy never will be Charles Barkley. Barkley is a Top 50 All Time NBA Player. It’s just an example of size being overrated. Chuck is a national Treasure, so I like to bring him up whenever possible. If you’d prefer a different comparison, ask.

Let’s take a moment and appreciate what we have in Minnesota right now for big men (especially if you include KAT…but we’ll leave that for another article and another day… he won Western Conference Player of the Week last week..). It has literally NEVER been like this. Jordan is only one half of the best front court in the Big Ten. Murphy’s front-court teammate Reggie Lynch won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year last year averaging 3.5 blocks per game. He’s averaging 5.5 so far this season…. Reggie’s eligibility runs out after this season. Even without his return, the future big men for the University are promising.

Richard Pitino has landed some big recruits already in his tenure, one of them being Minnesotan and current Sophomore, Amir Coffey. Some put his newly signed 2018 big man out of Cretin Derham Hall, Daniel Oturu, ahead of him in Pitino’s recruiting trophies since he’s been in Minnesota.

And Dan isn’t alone. Murphy will still have a year of eligibility left after this season, giving him one year with Oturu. Oturu would come in and start on most teams in the Big Ten but I doubt he will on this team. Let’s not forget about Eric Curry who was lost for the season to a devastating knee injury before the year could even get started. He will receive a medical redshirt and be just a Sophomore next year. If you’ve forgotten how good Curry was in his first year, let me refresh your memory. He played 20 MPG as a Freshman on a team that won 24 games.

And 2019 you ask??? How about another 6’9″ PF out of Minnesota? This one would be forever implanted in Pitino’s “Mount Rushmore” of recruits.

Minnesota is back in action tonight vs. Alabama A&M. As always, Go Gophers! Let’s make it 5-0. Do me a favor and cue the damn highlights:

Johnny Minnesota  @mnsportsnstuff & Boss-Man Eric @RealMNSportsFan
Minnesota Sports Fan MinnesotaSportsFan.com

From all accounts, it was a battle of the point guards. Nate Mason as the grizzled veteran Senior, who made the All-B1G Team last year. Isaiah Washington as the incoming freshman who was highly touted out of high school and is all but guaranteed Mason’s role (and probably more eventually) when Nate leaves. Isaiah Washington isn’t just any incoming freshman, though. Most have already heard of Washington’s “jelly” finger-roll and the following that came with it in “Jellyfam”. A following that was so big (400,000 on Isaiah’s Instagram alone), Nike couldn’t resist (they later noted the Jelly branding was for Paul George, not Washington….lol… see below for pictures). That’s not all though. Washington has the game to back up the hype. He was ranked in the national top 75 of most college recruiting sites. He dropped 20 points last night which was 2nd behind only Nate Mason.

Isaiah Washington is legit and will be fun to watch as he gets older. Watching him learn from Nate this year will be fun as well. Pitino has quietly built one of the youngest, most talented rosters in the NCAA. Last year was only the beginning and this year is just an early stepping stone. Pitino has his best class yet coming in next season (2018 – see tweet below), which will bolster their front court for the foreseeable future. There’s still 1 scholarship left too… All three 2018 commits are hometown kids and were in attendance last night next to some other local, highly touted 2019 – 2020 recruits. One 2019 recruit in-particular…

As good as the 2018 class is, 2019 could be even better. Rochester, MN is housing one of the best college basketball recruits in the country and multiple recruiting sites have him projected to stay home, easily making him the best recruit the Gophers have ever had… and his brother already plays here. Matthew Hurt is a phenom and has offers from every staple team (Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, UNC). If Hurt stays home, we will be national title favorites in 2019 and as long as he stays in college. If Richard Pitino can keep Matthew Hurt in Minnesota and bring this team to a Final Four…. maybe even a title… we are talking street names, baby names, statues, banners, etc. Legend FOREVER.

The future for Gopher Basketball is so bright. Add Matthew Hurt… it could be blinding.

Who’s who of MN prospects going to Sunday’s open Gopher scrimmage, incl. 2019s Matthew Hurt, Zeke Nnaji, Tyrell Terry & 2020 Dawson Garcia. pic.twitter.com/eyyBDFOEbK

— Marcus R. Fuller (@Marcus_R_Fuller) October 27, 2017

Minnesota committed 2018s Jarvis Thomas, Gabe Kalscheur, and Daniel Oturu will also be Gopher scrimmage guests Sunday pic.twitter.com/diMwg3uWp9

— Ryan James (@RyanJamesMN) October 27, 2017

Eric Strack
Minnesota Sports Fan
MinnesotaSportsFan.com @RealMNSportsFan

Sources: 247 Sports, Star Tribune, Isaiah Washington Social Media, NBC Sports

Photo: JERRY HOLT – STAR TRIBUNE