Michael Hurt, a 6-foot-7 junior forward from Rochester (MN) John Marshall, is one of Minnesota’s top players in the Class of 2016. He received a scholarship offer from Minnesota last month.
Michael Hurt, a 6-foot-7 junior forward from Rochester (MN) John Marshall, is one of Minnesota’s top players in the Class of 2016. He received a scholarship offer from Minnesota last month.
Hurt averaged 16.1 points and nine rebounds per game as a sophomore with a season-high 30 points versus Mankato East. John Marshall finished 20-9 last season, losing to eventual state champion Lakeville North 96-61 in the Section 1AAAA championship game.
Hurt shined in the Hardwood Elite League Sunday, scoring 24 points as he made six three-pointers to lead Team Maroon to an 86-75 win over Team Green in the title game. Hurt was named the league’s MVP. Gopher Hole caught up with Hurt after the game to learn the latest on his recruitment.
Gopher Hole: What is the latest on your recruitment? How many offers are you up right now?
Michael Hurt: I’m up to seven now. The newest one was Murray State. I was down at Creighton, actually, yesterday, and on the way back I was talking to Coach (Steve) Prohm and he offered me a scholarship.
Gopher Hole: What offers do you have right now?
Michael Hurt: Minnesota, Murray State, Northern Iowa, Drake, Davidson, San Jose State and Bucknell.
Gopher Hole: What prompted the trip to Creighton?
Michael Hurt: Coach (Darian) DeVries, one of the assistants, was up at one of our open gyms and he liked my game and wanted me to come down. I was at their Elite Camp. It was a lot of fun. I got to play in their open gym with the guys. Got to see the facilities and the campus again, more in-depth. It was fun.
Gopher Hole: You were down at Iowa State recently. What was that visit like?
Michael Hurt: It was a lot of fun. I got to go to the football game, which was a really good game. I got to play open gym with the guys there, too. They were really cool. I got to ride around the campus and all around the city with the head coach, so that was really fun.
Gopher Hole: The last time I talked to you, you were going to go down to Minnesota and you thought that you were going to get an offer and they did offer you. How did that go?
Michael Hurt: It was a lot of fun. That was really great. I got to talk to Coach Pitino. He actually came down to one of our open gyms last week and I am probably going to get up there for a practice soon to kind of see how he runs things once practice eventually gets started for them.
Gopher Hole: Any other trips planned for the next couple of months before your season starts up?
Michael Hurt: This coming week is homecoming for us, but the week after that, I think that (D1 Minnesota AAU head coach) Nick (Carroll) and I and Goanar (Mar) are going to go to Iowa. Wisconsin, hopefully. Maybe, I’ll get a visit in there. Obviously, I am going to go up to the “U” to see practice and hopefully walk around campus. Those are the ones that I have right now.
Gopher Hole: I know that ESPN recently came out with their Class of 2016 rankings and you were ranked 59th in the country. Were you surprised how high you were ranked?
Michael Hurt: Yes, I guess. It is always an honor to be ranked there. I talked to Paul Biancardi. He works for ESPN, obviously and he was at Unrivaled when I was there and he actually came up to me after a game I had and it was a good game, but he was the one who could recognize that I didn’t get the ball a lot and that I was really fundamental and a good shooter, too. I am glad that other people are recognizing that and seeing my hard work.
Gopher Hole: What things have you really been working on to continue to focus yourself and hopefully get ready for a big junior season?
Michael Hurt: Just working on being more of a primary ball handler. Just being able to take things off the dribble and work on that pull-up game and just continue to extend my range back further.
Gopher Hole: I know that your brother (Matthew) unfortunately got hurt. How soon is he expected back?
Michael Hurt: He’ll be back right around the start of December. He came probably start shooting in the next week or two, but no contact or anything. He’ll miss the first three games and then he’ll be back to full speed by then.
Gopher Hole: I know that you have a pretty tough game in LaCrosse as you are playing Henry Ellenson and Rice Lake, right?
Michael Hurt: That will be a really fun matchup. It is going to be very tough to stop him. We are going to try to figure it out.
Gopher Hole: The Big Nine is a good conference, but do you like playing some good teams outside the conference that are going to help you get better?
Michael Hurt: Definitely. Taking advantage of those non-conference games that we have is a big deal for us.
Gopher Hole: What are you hearing from the Gophers? What are they saying to you?
Michael Hurt: They really love my game. I talked to Jarvis (Johnson) after he committed and he wants me to come up and join him. They definitely have a great recruiting class coming in. I think that it would be a lot of fun.
Gopher Hole: Does that get you more excited knowing that someone you know who is going there is trying to convince you to go there as well. Does that get you more excited about Minnesota?
Michael Hurt: Yes. I just think that it is cool that he is starting a trend of home kids staying home. That is pretty cool.
Gopher Hole: Have you even thought about when you would try to decide on a school. Would you try to decide on a school before your senior year? Have you even thought that far yet?
Michael Hurt: I think that I definitely want to narrow my list down, probably next spring to summer around May-ish, just narrow my recruitment down a little and probably towards the end of the summer, make a decision.