Minnesota signee Michael Hurt, a 6-foot-6 senior forward from Rochester (MN) John Marshall, was one of five finalists for Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball Award, which was recently won by future teammate Hopkins forward Amir Coffey.
Hurt averaged 19.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 1.9 steals and 2.6 blocked shots per game this season as the Rockets finished 24-5, losing to Lakeville North 60-58 in the Section 1AAAA championship game for the fourth straight year. He scored in double figures in all but two games, with a season-high 38 points versus Prior Lake.
Gopher Hole recently caught up with Hurt at the recent Minnesota Timberwolves-Golden State Warriors’ game to learn more about his senior season and upcoming future with the Gophers.
Gopher Hole: Obviously, you are back at the Target Center. I know that this was a place that you wanted to end up and you watched the state tournament games here last weekend. Was it tough being here and watching the games knowing how close you came, losing by just two points to Lakeville North?
Michael Hurt: Yes, for sure. Seeing how Lakeville did, playing against Maple Grove and eventually against Hopkins in the championship, shows that we were a team that definitely could have competed with the other teams. It was kind of disappointing that we didn’t get the opportunity to show how good of a team we were.
Gopher Hole: Your dad (who is an assistant coach) said that he might have even taken the loss harder than you guys.
Michael Hurt: Yes, for sure. He was probably taking it harder than we did. I think that it was kind of harder for him than my mom. We don’t know where Matthew is going to go. It might have been the last time that me and Matthew might have played together, so that is kind of tough for parents and seeing the last time that they are going to get to watch me play every single game.
Gopher Hole: How much did it mean to get to play with him the past two years?
Michael Hurt: It just kind of hit. I have had a lot of time to reflect since then. It was an awesome experience to play with him, not just because he is your brother, but how talented he is and being able to see how much he has grown the past two years is really awesome.
Gopher Hole: You were one of the finalists for the Mr. Basketball Award and lost to your future teammate, Amir Coffey, who you are going to play with on the same team in the high school All-Star series April 1-2. What do you know about Amir and what is it going to be to play with him, not only at the event, but over the next few years?
Michael Hurt: I am really happy for him. He got the title that he has really wanted. He has worked really hard, coming back from his injury and to get a state title and Mr. Basketball is a really huge honor for him. It would be a huge honor for me to play with him. I am really excited to get a little taste of it at the All-Star series.
Gopher Hole: What is it going to be like to get a chance to play with and against a lot of those kids that you grew up with AAU-wise?
Michael Hurt: It is one last time to see everyone, because they are going to start parting ways at their respective places. It will be really awesome to be together with everyone. A lot of talented guys as well.
Gopher Hole: I know that Coach Pitino tweeted out a few things about you and Amir being finalists of the Mr. Basketball Award and being pretty proud of you two. What does it feel like to hear from your future coach?
Michael Hurt: It is really awesome to see that he really appreciates us. Looking forward to helping him out next year any way that we possibly can.
Gopher Hole: The team struggled down the end of the season with some player suspensions and injuries. What was your feeling about watching the team this year?
Michael Hurt: I really liked how they were playing that middle towards the end stretch. They were really close in all the games like Iowa and Michigan. They were in every single game and they finally got that breakthrough with Maryland. I think that bringing everyone back and keeping everyone healthy, I think that we can be a totally different team next year.
Gopher Hole: What are your expectations as a freshman next year? Have they talked to you much about what they are expecting of you or what you expect out of yourself next year?
Michael Hurt: I think that we’ll just have to see how it is once I get up to campus. Just want to bring anything I can to help the team out. Anything I can do to help the team out is definitely what I want.