Multiple freshmen named to Oscar Robertson Watch List
Multiple college freshmen highlight the 2018 Oscar
Multiple college freshmen highlight the 2018 Oscar
By JACOB POLACHECK
For the second consecutive year, the Duke Blue Devils will open the season as the No. 1 ranked team in the AP Preseason Top-25 poll, with Michigan State, Arizona, Kansas, and Kentucky rounding out the rest of the top-five. Duke had 33 of 65 first-place votes.
“It is an honor to be picked No. 1 in your sport,” Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski told the Associated Press Wednesday. “At this time of the year, it truly is a prediction, so you haven’t earned No. 1 yet. More than likely, past teams that have played at Duke have put this team in a position where people might say, ‘How is that team going to do?’ or ‘They have a lot of talent’ and all of the sudden, you’re No. 1. Certainly, it’s an honor and we’ll look forward to trying to achieve and earn that ranking at some time during the season, hopefully at the end.”
Matthew Hurt, the 6-foot-9 forward from Rochester (MN) John Marshall High, had an eventful recruiting weekend with unofficial visits to both Duke and North Carolina.
The No. 5 player in the 2019 ESPN 60, Hurt had previously visited Kentucky and Indiana in September.
On Monday, Kansas coach Bill Self and his entire staff flew in and sat down with Hurt, his father, Richard, told ZAGSBLOG. It was Self’s second visit to see Hurt inside a month. (Self and the Kansas staff also visited with 2018 point guard Quentin Grimes.)
“They talked about their success with big guards/wings over the years like [Andrew] Wiggins, [Kelly] Oubre, [Josh] Jackson, etc.,” Richard Hurt said “Also said they have a way of getting guys out of their comfort zone to help them achieve success at the next level. It was a good visit and conversation.”
Hurt will trip to Kansas Nov. 17 for the South Dakota State game.
“We did the ‘Late Night in the Phog’ deal last year,” Richard said. “I think we’re going to go down in mid-November to a game at Kansas against South Dakota State.”
As for the Duke trip on Friday, Hurt was on campus for “Countdown to Craziness” when 2018 star Zion Williamson visited along with 2019 guys like Armando Bacot and Joey Baker and 2020 Isaiah Todd.
Duke’s players voted junior guard Grayson Allen team captain for the upcoming season.
The news was first reported by The Athletic.
Allen was one of three captains last season, along with Amile Jefferson and Matt Jones, but had the title stripped after he tripped Elon’s Steven Santa Ana during the first half of a Dec. 21 game at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski stripped Allen of his captaincy and suspended him indefinitely in the wake of that incident. The suspension ending up lasting one game, as he returned against Georgia Tech on Jan. 4.
