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

~ (Author) "ED SZALKIEWICZ KEPT coming down the third-floor corridor of St. Anthony High School, insisting that Ahmad Mosby-the senior everyone called "Beanie"-turn around and talk to..." (more)
Key Phrases: unbeaten season, third foul, open gym, Sister Alan, Bob Hurley, New York (more...)

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.
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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; 1st Printing 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: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #572,568 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 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 (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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

21 of 26 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 (REAL NAME)

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's not about basketball, June 29, 2005

By	R. Osborn (Monroe, OH United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is really engaging on a number of levels. I love hoops and especially high school and college hoops. I picked this boook up and found in reading it that it's not really about basketball at all. Coach Hurley happens to invest his life in basketball and the players are playing the game but basketball is only the sub-plot to the larger play of Hurley's desire to see these kids make something of themselves. In the end basketball is simply the vehicle used to propel these ragamuffin kids to something better. Hurley could have used anything but it just happens to be basketball. It's a great read for anyone concerned about today's youth. Also, it has an amazing storyline about the inability of some to leave what they've known even if it's killing them or going to.