Matthew Hurt Named To Julius Erving Award Watch List

Sixth straight year a Duke freshman has made list

Duke freshman Matthew Hurt was named to the preseason watch list for the Julius Erving Award. The award is given annually by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top small forward in Division I men’s college basketball.

The 20-player watch list was selected by a national committee of top college basketball personnel.

Hurt is one of three ACC forwards to make the Watch List. The others are Jordan Nwora of Louisville and Elijah Hughes of Syracuse, both juniors.

Duke has had a freshman make the Erving Award Preseason Watch List every season in the six-year history of the award. Justise Winslow was selected in 2015, followed by Brandon Ingram, Jayson Tatum, Gary Trent Jr. and Cam Reddish.

Kentucky and Gonzaga are tied with the second longest streak of Watch List players, at three years each.

Hurt is one of six freshmen on the list, joined by Arizona’s Josh Green, Florida’s Scottie Lewis, Kentucky’s Kahlil Whitney, Memphis’ Precious Achiuwa and Washington’s Jaden McDaniels.

No Blue Devil has ever won the award.

Here is Hurt discussing the upcoming season at Duke media day.

The complete list of players is below.

Josh Green    ArizonaMatthew Hurt    DukeScottie Lewis    FloridaCorey Kispert    GonzagaSeth Towns    HarvardXavier Sneed    Kansas St.Kahlil Whitney    KentuckyJordan Nwora    LouisvillePrecious Achiuwa    MemphisTres Tinkle    Oregon St.Alpha Diallo    ProvidenceNojel Eastern    PurdueLJ Figueroa    St. John'sElijah Hughes    SyracuseChris Clarke    Texas TechAnthony Lamb    VermontSaddiq Bey    VillanovaJaden McDaniels    WashingtonCJ Elleby    Washington St.Naji Marshall    Xavier