Top-50 junior Joe Hurlbert talks growing recruitment
North Dakota has emerged as one of the more under-the-radar basketball states in the country. We’ve seen some talented guys come out of the Midwest and Joe Hurlbert looks to continue that streak of talent as he’s growing into a high-major recruit.
The 6-foot-10 prospect plays for Enderlin High School and D1 Minnesota, a very successful grassroots program in the state of Minnesota.
Coming out of D1 Minnesota most recently is Arizona forward Zeke Nnaji, a projected first-round pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Hurlbert is receiving similar buzz out of the state that Nnaji was when he was beginning his junior year.
Both of whom didn’t really garner high-major interest till this time in their high school careers.
Last year, Hurlbert earned his first offer from North Dakota, now this summer he landed his first Power Five offer and has landed multiple since that one. Last week, he added his first Pac-12 offer from Oregon State, making them his fifth high-major offer since July 31st.
“Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Colorado are the schools that have offered me that I've been talking to the most recently,” Hurlbert told Stockrisers.com. He broke down those programs below:
Minnesota: “Minnesota thinks they can develop me into a pro like Daniel Oturu was developed, and I’ve got a lot of family in Minnesota so I’m in the area pretty often.”
Wisconsin: “In talking with the coaching staff, Wisconsin thinks I fit their system character-wise and play-style wise.”
Colorado: “Colorado was my first high-major offer and they want to pair me up with Lawson Lovering and think they can make me a pro from there.”
Ohio State: “Ohio State wants a versatile big man who can do a lot of things like shooting and dribbling and inside play.”
Hurlbert’s recruitment doesn’t stop there. He is beginning to hear from even more programs as the process continues and as the days go by.
He said recently he’s talked with Arizona, Gonzaga, and Virginia. I fully expect even more programs outside of them and the ones who have offered to start reaching out. This will be a recruitment that will be very intriguing with the big man position becoming a more popular position to recruit in present day.