Former Duke Basketball Forward Matt Hurt Thrives Overseas

Matt Hurt has played all 22 games for the South East Melbourne Phoenix in his first season outside of the United States. The 24-year-old Duke basketball product, a former five-star prep from Minnesota, is the team's leading scorer. And his latest prolific performance propelled the Phoenix to No. 5 in the National Basketball League standings with a 12-10 record.

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Across his 28 minutes of action in Saturday's 105-86 win over the Brisbane Bullets, Hurt matched his season-high 32 points, also the game-high mark, by shooting 14-for-20 from the field and 4-for-4 at the charity stripe.

He added 12 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks, all without committing a single turnover and in front of his parents, who made the 16-hour flight to watch him.

"Obviously, I'm not from here," Hurt said on the broadcast following the victory, South East Melbourne's fifth in its past six bouts, as he soaked in all the positive vibes he fueled with his silky efforts. "I'm from Minnesota, a 16-hour flight. I'm just happy [my parents] got to come, and I've gotta put on a show when they're here...

"I'm not gonna put a target on our back, but we're confident we can beat anybody."

Stacking up at No. 4 among all NBL players in scoring this season, the 6-foot-9 forward is averaging 20.3 points, shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 35.2 percent beyond the arc. Plus, he's chipping in 7.2 boards per contest.

After becoming the ACC Most Improved Player and an All-ACC First Team selection as a Duke basketball sophomore under Mike Krzyzewski, he declared for the 2021 NBA Draft but did not hear his name.

However, the 2019 McDonald's All-American shined in the G League, leading to a string of 10-day contracts with the Memphis Grizzlies. Matt Hurt ultimately made his official NBA debut last year, seeing the court in eight outings and averaging 4.0 points across 14.1 minutes per appearance.

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