Utah Jazz: 4 reasons to eye Duke basketball draft prospect Matthew Hurt

Why the Utah Jazz might draft Matthew Hurt: The Duke basketball connection

It’s safe to say no Blue Devil faces have been duds in Salt Lake City. Carlos Boozer. Rodney Hood. Grayson Allen. Quin Snyder.

To begin with, here’s a brief summary of the three Duke basketball alums to have ever laced ’em up for the Utah Jazz:

• Boozer was a two-time All-Star in Utah (2007 and 2008)
• Hood was a double-digit scorer for a Jazz bunch that reached the Western Conference Semifinals (2016-17)
• Allen was a fairly promising rookie in his lone season with the franchise that drafted him No. 21 overall (2018)

Of course, Snyder is in his seventh year as the Utah Jazz head coach and has guided the franchise to playoff appearances in all but his first two seasons on the job. At the moment, the 54-year-old boasts a 315-228 overall record in regular-season action. Moreover, given the current group’s 44-17 record, he’s in the NBA Coach of the Year discussion.

ALSO READ: Quin Snyder may soon become a top candidate for the Duke job

Speaking of Snyder, he played for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke (1985-89). The same goes for all of the listed Blue Devils above in addition to Matthew Hurt.

Also, Snyder became a member of Krzyzewski’s staff (1993-99).

Needless to say, the shared Coach K tutelage — not to mention the relative success of Dukies as Jazzmen — should count for something if Hurt remains on the board when it comes time for Utah to make its selection at the 2021 NBA Draft.