The Miracle of St. Anthony: A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball's Most Improbable Dynasty [Hardcover]

Adrian Wojnarowski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 21, 2005

On the mean streets of Jersey City, St. Anthony High School is more than a tiny brick schoolhouse—it is a beacon of hope. Though the school constantly teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, it is held together by Felician nuns devoted to helping students overcome the scourges of poverty by preparing them for college educations and a brighter future. And each year from the student body of just over 200, Coach Bob Hurley forges an elite nationally ranked basketball team through hard work, his coaching genius, and the sheer force of his personality. In thirty-one years as a coach, Hurley has won twenty-two state championships, two USA Today national titles, and has sent all of his players to college except for one (including his son Bobby, one of the greatest players in college basketball history). Award-winning sportswriter Adrian Wojnarowski brings the stories of the St. Anthony 2003–2004 season to vivid life, as Hurley struggles to turn a troubled group of players into state champions and national title contenders again—while keeping the school he loves alive to continue its educational mission at any cost.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Bob Hurley profiled here isn't as well known to the average sports fan as his son, Bobby, the Duke University basketball superstar. But the elder Hurley's profile should rise quickly, thanks to sportswriter Wojnarowski's fine and detailed look at the "miracle" Hurley has achieved as coach for more than 30 years of the men's basketball team at St. Anthony's High School in Jersey City, NJ. Wojnarowski provides an excellent look at the phenomenon of the school itself, which Hurley and two Felician nuns managed to keep open even after it lost funding from the church, educating "the poorest of the poor" (more than 50% of the students' families lived below the poverty line). He delivers a finely etched portrait of Hurley, whose passion and drive enabled him to construct "a national powerhouse program out of an enrollment that struggled to stay at 200" and keep the school's decade-long streak of 100% college acceptance. But Wojnarowski's main focus is on the 2003-2004 season, in which a varsity team that Hurley considered "the most academically, athletically and socially underachieving in St. Anthony basketball history" overcame its "dysfunctional" nature and had an undefeated season. Wojnarowski's sensitive, insightful look at the social backgrounds and emotional development of the varsity players-and Hurley's remarkable understanding of them-will keep readers riveted throughout this book, which is one of the best recent pieces of sports journalism.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In 31 years as head basketball coach at St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, New Jersey, Bob Hurley has won 22 state titles. One might expect St. Anthony to be a sprawling urban campus with thousands of students from which to cull elite basketball players. On the contrary, it's a tiny school, constantly on the edge of bankruptcy and held together by a determined band of Felician nuns. Nearly all of Hurley's players have attended college, many on basketball scholarships. New Jersey sportswriter Wojnarowski chronicles St. Anthony's 2003-04 season, which began with a group of players Hurley categorized as undermotivated and unfocused. They weren't for long. The season was a success, and the four seniors all accepted scholarships to Division I basketball programs. This inspiring account of good people making a difference one step at a time stands as a compelling counterpoint to Ian O'Connor's The Jump (p.1129), in which basketball talent is exploited at various levels for the profit of all but the player. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Gotham; First edtion edition (February 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592401023
• ISBN-13: 978-1592401024
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #558,991 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for AAU coaches..., May 31, 2005

By 

Bert Ruiz "Author" (Pleasantville, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Miracle of St. Anthony: A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball's Most Improbable Dynasty (Hardcover)

Coach Bob Hurley is an old fashioned basketball coach. He does not massage egos...he does not compromise...he demands a strong dedication to excellence...and if you don't give it...you will be asked to turn in your uniform. In other words...only hard work works. "The Miracle of St. Anthony; A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball's Most Improbable Dynasty," should be required reading for all AAU basketball coaches across the nation.

Many AAU programs do not teach the fundamentals of basketball...they showcase...and use players as trophies. Many AAU programs are also factories who spit out players regularly when other more talented players come along. Coach Hurley teaches his kids how to play as a team and sticks with them for a lifetime. He also introduces a culture of refreshing honesty and does not engage in the dark world of under the table payments to, "street agents."

Admittedly, Coach Hurley would not get away with the harsh screaming and cursing of players in most affluent suburban basketball communities. However, it appears to be the right forumla in Jersey City an inner city low-income community just across the Hudson River in the shadows of New York City. The kids who play for St. Anthony use basketball as an escape from the demons of drugs and violence on the streets. They use the academic and basketball education at St. Anthony's to get free rides to college.

Coach Hurley shows them the path. He does so by teaching them discipline...the discipline to keep your mouth shut and play ball. It is amazing that Coach Hurley's teams rarely get called for technical fouls. They play the game on the court and are prohibited to "trash talk" to opposing players, coaches or officials.

But it is hardly a piece of cake...Coach Hurley is demanding. He expects a "total," commitment. Some pages of this book are harsh. However, this is a national high school powerhouse with a long tradition of championships and it is hard to argue with the genius of Coach Hurley. Recommended.

Bert Ruiz

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hurley is amazing, December 26, 2005

By 

Jeffrey P. Hoyle (Swansea, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Miracle of St. Anthony: A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball's Most Improbable Dynasty (Hardcover)

As a coach, I like to read about what makes a program successful. I love to look inside the pro or college programs and see what makes them tick. But books are few and far between that give you a look into a high school program. Particularly one as successful as St. Anthony's in New Jersey. As you read the book you cannot help but appreciate everything Hurley and his players must overcome to be a success. Gangs, poverty, low expectations, negative peer pressure, a school constantly on the brink of going under financially. Hurley lets you see his program warts and all. His famous temper. His battle with apathetic players. How he handles parents with unrealistic expectations. How he pushes, pleads, drives his players. It is all there for us to see and be either repelled or amazed. I've heard Hurley lecture. This let me know more about the man. I really enjoyed this book. If you are a high school coach or just a basketball fan, I think you will too.

22 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beacon of Hope in a Terrible Area, February 21, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Miracle of St. Anthony: A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball's Most Improbable Dynasty (Hardcover)

Sub-Title: A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball's Most Improbable Dynasty

I once went to a play in a Jersey City High School and I wondered how anyone could live in such a bleak, even dangerous environment. And this is a tale of not only learning, but excelling in an environment where most of us want to drive through quickly with the doors locked.

This is a story about basketball. But more than that, it is a story of depressed urban areas with all the usual problems of race, drugs, poverty, and all the other problems. At the same time it is a story of hope and fulfillment. It's also the story of extraordinary people who are willing to spend their careers helping the people in such an area to get ahead.

More than just a basketball story, this is a story of a small brick schoolhouse run by Felician nuns always at the edge of bankruptcy but somehow able to barely survive but to continue to turn out educated kids.