Duke basketball: NBA still in play for Matthew Hurt

The 2021 ACC Most Improved Player must sizzle in Vegas.

Recent draftees and other young players with top-level aspirations will be in Las Vegas for 11 days of action, July 7-17, at the annual NBA Summer League. According to Brett Siegel of Fastbreak, former Duke basketball stretch-four Matthew Hurt is on the list.

Hurt, who went undrafted in 2021 despite landing on the All-ACC First Team as a sophomore in Durham, will suit up for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Last season, the 6-foot-9, 235-pound former McDonald's All-American played eight games and drew three starts for the Memphis Hustle, the Memphis Grizzlies' G League affiliate. He averaged 12.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 29.8 minutes per outing, shooting 43.0 percent from the field and 35.3 percent beyond the arc.

But Hurt's first pro campaign ended prematurely in December due to a torn meniscus in his knee, which he underwent surgery to repair in January. His father, Richard Hurt, suggested to Guy N. Limbeck of the Post Bulletin at the time that the season-ending setback couldn't have come at a more unfortunate time for the Minnesota native:

"He was just starting to play well, and the Grizzlies had been talking to him about bringing him up on a 10-day contract...It was just kind of bad timing."

Duke basketball's double-digit NBA Summer League participants

For now, the 22-year-old Matthew Hurt is one of 10 former Blue Devils on a 2022 NBA Summer League roster. Here are the other nine:

• AJ Griffin (Atlanta Hawks)
• Jalen Johnson (Atlanta Hawks)
• Mark Williams (Charlotte Hornets)
• Jack White (Denver Nuggets)
• Theo John (Minnesota Timberwolves)
• Wendell Moore Jr. (Minnesota Timberwolves)
• Trevor Keels (New York Knicks)
• Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic)
• Vernon Carey Jr. (Washington Wizards)

Milwaukee and Matthew Hurt will take the floor for the first time on July 8 at 7 p.m. ET (NBA TV) against the Brooklyn Nets.

Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country for daily Duke basketball content.