By DANIEL YNFANTE
NEW YORK — Stay at home, or play for a historic program?
Matthew Hurt’s college decision looms.
On Saturday, some of college basketball’s marquee coaches sat courtside to watch Hurt score 29 points, grab 6 rebounds and record 6 assists as his D1 Minnesota squad beat Team Loaded (NC), 77-59, Team Loaded (NC) at the Adidas Gauntlet Finale at Basketball City.
Among those in attendance were Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Kansas’ Bill Self and Minnesota’s Richard Pitino, as well as assistant coaches from Kentucky, North Carolina and Indiana. Self coached Hurt last month on the gold-medal winning USA U18 team in the FIBA U18 Americas Championship.
Hurt said he felt no pressure being watched by dozens of coaches.
“I really don’t try to focus on that,” he told ZAGSBLOG. “I try to go out there, play my game and play for my teammates. Whoever is watching is watching.”
Hurt, a five-star, 6-foot-9 forward from Minnesota, ranks as the class of 2019’s No. 6 recruit on 247Sports.com. He’s received offers from some of the top school’s in college basketball, and says that he is currently considering Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Minnesota, Indiana, Memphis, Kansas and UCLA.
“Those are the ones that have been with us forever and continue to work on us,” said Richard Hurt, Matthew’s father.
Coach K, Bill Self and Rich Pitino among over a dozen coaches on hand to watch Matthew Hurt, one of the top recruits in the class of 2019#AdidasGauntletFinale pic.twitter.com/Xwy3iVLNsm
— Daniel Ynfante (@Daniel__Ynfante) July 14, 2018
Richard, whose older son, Michael Hurt, is a junior at Minnesota, would love for Matthew to remain home and join him. “There’s nothing that I would want more than to have my older son Michael and Matthew play together,” he said.
Although a college decision lays in the back of his mind, Matthew said that for now, he is focused on his AAU team. When the season concludes, the Hurts will be going on a family vacation, and when they return, they’ll cut his list of schools down to five by the end of August.
As for what coaches are pitching him, They’re “trying to say they’d use me the best, but I’m just trying to find the best fit for me.”
Hurts AAU team, D1 Minnesota, improved to 3-0 in the Adidas Gauntlet, thanks in large part to Hurt’s impressive play. Going up against Isaiah Todd, a five-star class of 2020 recruit, Hurt displayed a wide array of offensive moves. He showed off his athleticism, flushing a two-handed dunk in transition and converting a couple three-point plays. Early in the first half, Hurt showcased his 3-point range, hitting a one legged 3-pointer with his defender draped all over him.
Coach K and a host of other schools taking in 6’10 + class of 2020 big man Isaiah Todd (@teamloadednc) + 6’9 class of 2019 product Matthew Hurt (@D1Minnesota) here at the #adidas #gauntlet @BasketballCity
Todd has 9 PTS at the break + Hurt has an efficient 11 PTS pic.twitter.com/91YHXFS6vJ
— DraftExpressContent (@DXContent) July 14, 2018
Watching his son perform at a high level in front of the likes of Krzyzewski and Self brought joy to his fahter. “As a dad you’re extremely proud and it’s humbling because to see Coach K, Bill Self, John Callipari … all these guys, it’s humbling,” he said.
Richard admitted he’s conflicted about his son’s decision. He’d love for him to stay home, but also wants the best for him.
“It’s his decision,” Richard said. “At the end of the day I cant make it for him, I could only put him on the path to where he needs to be.”
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