"Jumping" Joe Hurst (born East Saint Louis, Illinois), is a retired professional basketball player. In 1982, Hurst earned a sporting scholarship with Northwest Missouri State University. In five years, he played more than 200 games, and was all-conference representative for three years. During his last two seasons he was MVP and named in the All-MIAA First Team.Hurst left Northwest in the top five in both career scoring (1,580 points) and rebounding (777). He also set the all-time mark for blocked shots with 153.Hurst commenced his professional career in Australia where he played for the Hobart Devils in the National Basketball League. With the Devils he was the NBL Most Valuable Player in 1988, although he was not named in the All-NBL First Team for that year. He played again for the Devils in the 1989 and 1992 seasons. Hurst also played professionally for teams in Sweden, Iceland, Croatia, Indonesia and Portugal. Returning to Australia, he filled in an injury-filled roster at the Canberra Cannons for two games in 2001. Hurst currently resides in Mildura, Australia, where he works as a Youth Justice Worker.