Twenty Pounds of Muscle Will Help Matt Hurt in the Paint

Duke sophomore used pandemic to bulk up

Matt Hurt made the most of quarantine, adding 20 pounds of muscle while home during the offseason.

“I have a playing weight of about 240 (pounds),” the Duke sophomore said. “My playing weight last year was around 220. So (I added) about 20 pounds of muscle.”

The process of adding the bulk required changes to his diet and workout.

“I got home mid-March last year,” he said. “I took a week or two off since the season ended and just tried to focus on eating right, eating a lot and stay working out and lifting. I got with our strength coach, Coach Will (Stephens) three or four times a week and lifted. I was doing that during quarantine. I was lucky enough to find a gym with a weight room. I think doing that until I came back to Duke on August 2 was effective for me.”

Hurt plans to make the most of the added weight.

“It’s going to impact a big part of my game,” he said. “The knock on me was I was a little lighter guarding the four. People would try to take advantage of me down low. This year, especially on defense but also on offense, attacking it, being strong with the ball, taking contact and finishing over taller defenders.”

Hurt expects that he’ll be able to play in the post more this season.

“I’ll try to be in the post more. I’m a lot more confident in the post. With the 20 pounds, my base feels a lot better. Also driving, too. I think being strong with the ball—there’s going to be a lot of people trying to swipe at the ball when I’m driving the lane. I’m just trying to be strong driving through contact.”