Matthew Hurt Is the Best Freshman in a Decade to Return to Duke
Matthew Hurt decided to return to Duke for his sophomore season after the former five-star recruit averaged 9.7 ppg during his first year with the Blue Devils.
Entering Duke as an elite shooter, his accuracy from three wasn’t high enough in his first year to put him on the NBA's radar.
Hurt’s return gives Duke a rarity in the one-and-done era—a second season with a player who was ranked in the top dozen in the nation as a high school recruit.
Hurt was ranked No. 12 in the class of 2019, according to 247Sports. His rating by that network (out of a possible 1) was .9957. That makes him the highest-rated recruit, by either national ranking or 247 rating, to return to Duke for a second season in more than a decade.
Over the last decade, 16 players have come to Duke with a higher rating than Hurt. Fifteen came in with a higher national ranking. Frank Jackson (.9961) had a better rating than Hurt, but he was ranked 13th in the nation, which explains the difference in the two counts.
All 16 of those players left for the NBA after one season. Only three players ranked lower than Hurt have gone one-and-done in the last decade—Justise Winslow, Gary Trent Jr. and Hurt’s teammate this year, Cassius Stanley.
The last player ranked higher than Hurt to come back? Kyle Singler, who came in with a .9985 rating, good for No. 6 in the nation in the class of 2007.
Since Singler’s class, here are the best Duke recruits to return for year two.
