From 1972 until 2004, Bob Hurley enjoyed every success
imaginable. Coach Hurley won more than 800 basketball games and 22 state
championships, while besting 90% of his opponents at tiny St. Anthony Hig=
h, a
school without its own gym, and which can be found by making a hard left =
out
of the Holland Tunnel in Jer=
sey City,
N.J.
Then the program fell from grace, if only by the beatific
standards of St. Anthony. In 2005 and 2006, they lost eight games and won=
a
mere 47 games. And no state titles!
Now they are back on top, undefeated after 13 games and =
ranked
fourth in the nation by USA Today.
After graduating from St. Anthony, Danny, 34, played for=
Seton
Hall and was an assistant coach at Rutgers
before returning to the high-school level. Still, "Ninety percent of
what I do is from my dad," Danny says.
And why not? If you ever wondered how much coaching can =
do for
a team, watch St. Anthony for five minutes at a practice. Even warm-ups t=
ell
the story: The team takes the floor like a cross between the Army Rangers=
and
Alvin Ailey, tipping the ball off the backboard and whipping it corner to
corner with speed and precision -- no lay-up lines here. When the game
begins, St. Anthony, starting four juniors, traps and presses, forcing
turnover after turnover. On offense the players pass the ball so well that
dribbling is rarely necessary.
Bob Hurley, 59, has coached four undefeated teams. His m=
ost
recent, in 2003-04, was perhaps his most impressive. They won every game =
and
were ranked number two nationally despite the fact that none of the senio=
rs
would play in a top-tier college program. That season was chronicled by
Adrian Wojnarowski in his wonderful book, "The Miracle of St.
Anthony."
It seemed that the 2005 team would be even better. But a=
rash
of injuries and a plague of careless play led to five losses, including a
16-point loss to St. Patrick's -- an awful year for the St. Anthony Friar=
s.
Meanwhile, St. Benedict's, already a top squad, was risi=
ng to national
prominence under Danny. The 2005 team finished at 26-1. In 2006, the team
wound up 28-2, losing only to St. Patrick's by a point and to Oak Hill
Academy, a prep s=
chool
from Mouth of Wilson, Va., which attracts players from around the country=
and
barnstorms the nation. St. Benedict's was also producing blue-chip talent:
Five of its former players are now at top Division I programs. A sixth, J=
.R.
Smith, jumped directly to the NBA and is starting for the Denver Nuggets.
This year, despite losing three seniors to Duke, <=
st1:City
w:st=3D"on">Marquette and Seton Hall, the St.
Benedict's Gray Bees picked up where they left off.
Neither coach is ever satisfied. At the Dan Finn Classic=
in
Jersey City this past weekend, St. Anthony's played a winning Hoboken (N.=
J.)
High School team, starting the game in a fury and finishing the first qua=
rter
leading 28-4 on the way to a 76-30 win. But after the game, Coach Hurley =
was
disappointed with the effort of the second string, in particular during a
four-minute stretch of the third quarter. "You have to respect your
minutes," he lectured, singling out two upperclassmen for their lack=
of
leadership. Victory, he says, can breed inattention to detail.
Danny is little different. While not as fierce as his da=
d, he
demands the same full-court focus. At one recent practice held a few days
after St. Benedict's beat Prep Charter of Philadelphia, the reigning state
champion of Pennsylvania,
the coach stopped practice and berated his players for being too soft on =
each
other. "You have to get mad at your teammates," he told the tea=
m.
"There is a fine line between patting a guy on his back and putting =
your
foot up his [backside]."
At the time, it seemed like the players were making a br=
ave
effort. Danny didn't disagree, but needed to keep them motivated. "W=
hen
you're 15-0 and number two in the country you have to make up
something," he explained later.
Soon after, Oak Hill lost its first game to Chicago Simeon
High School, clea=
ring
the top spot for St. Benedict's coming off its Dan Finn Classic win over =
Plainfield
(N.J.) High School.
Both Hurleys emphasize tradition. "Let me tell you
something fellas, it's a privilege to play here and to go to school
here," Danny tells his team. One college coach, University of Cincin=
nati
assistant Larry Davis, scouting a St. Anthony practice marvels at how hard
the kids compete and notes, "When they come here, they know it's not
about them; it's about St. Anthony."
St. Anthony and St. Benedict's are often on the same cou=
rt on
the same day, but never at the same time. They were both at the Dan Finn =
in Jersey City and will both play this weekend at St.
Benedict's Brian Doherty Classic and at the Primetime Shootout in Trenton startin=
g Feb.
10. But by decree of Bob's wife and Danny's mom, the two teams will never
play each other. Since St. Benedict's plays in a division of mostly prep
schools, rather than the all-parochial league in which St. Anthony compet=
es,
the two schools do not even meet in the state tournament.
So the question remains: Who would win? At first blush, =
St.
Benedict's would seem to have the edge. While most of its players are fro=
m Newark and its suburbs, its top-ranked player,
6-foot-10-inch Samardo Samuels, a junior, came to the school from Jamaica, and
St. Anthony has no big man with his size and power, combined with a soft
touch around the basket.
On the other hand, St. Anthony is unparalleled defensive=
ly and
has a quicker backcourt. With 15 buildings, a 12-acre campus, and 507 boy=
s in
its high school, St. Benedict's has a huge advantage. But if resources ma=
ttered,
St. Anthony, with 235 students (120 boys) and a rented gym, wouldn't beat
anybody. The college coaches scouting the two teams either can't or won't
answer the question. "That'd be quite a contest," says one,
venturing no further. Danny Hurley evades the question directly. "I
don't even want to think about that scenario. It would make me, my dad, my
wife, my mom -- it would drive us crazy."
Mr. Ackman is a writer based in Jersey City, N.J.<=
/i>
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