A Quick 60
The Challenge
MSGVarsity.com Sports Talk
High School SportsDesk 
It's No Surprise Hurley, Friars Finish On Top
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – It crossed your mind. You know it did at one point simply because over the last four decades at the helm of St. Anthony, Bob Hurley has taught us one thing: never count his team out. Ever.
Of course it was easy to overlook the legendary coach and his crew this year, the year four high school basketball teams from the Garden State made weekly appearances in the USA Today national poll.
Though St. Anthony was one of those four powerhouses, somewhere along the way we forgot the program never runs out of magic.
It became more fun to talk about St. Patrick’s dynamic duo of Kyrie Irving and Michael Gilchrist. It also became more entertaining to discuss how Paterson Catholic, months into the season, still hadn’t lost a game. It became an interesting debate, too, wondering which weapon was the most dangerous for St. Benedict’s Prep.
We forgot the Oldie was still the Goodie.
As the season wore on, the Friars constructed a 15-game winning streak and began to click on all cylinders leading into Thursday’s big victory in the North Jersey, Non-Public A championship game. Slowly, but surely, they quietly became the team to beat.
“I thought something like this would happen,” Hurley said. “I thought that we have been underappreciated all season, but quietly we got better and better… Out of every team I’ve had I think this group made the most progress over a season. It’s also one of the best defensive teams I’ve ever had.”
Meanwhile, St. Patrick learned it was banned from the state tournament by the NJSIAA for taking part in illegal preseason workouts, Paterson Catholic got too comfortable playing a light schedule and St. Benedict’s took the success earned during its national schedule and faded out of the New Jersey picture.
Thanks to this triumph over heavily favored Paterson Catholic – ranked sixth in the nation – in front of a stunned crowd at the RAC, we were reminded of how St. Anthony always find ways to win these types of games.
And always finds a way to be the last team standing.
This win, one of over 900 for Hurley during his decorated tenure, came in the form of revenge.
The Friars had four days to prepare for this contest in the wake of hurdling the obstacle that stopped their run at a 26th state championship last year. In 2008-09, they fell to these same Cougars in the semifinals of this tournament. Hurley wouldn’t let it happen again.
He knew if the Cougars, swallowed whole by St. Anthony’s overwhelming defense so much they mustered just 16 points by halftime, were forced into a chess match, then the Friars had a chance – a real good chance.
“It wasn’t intimidating at all,” said senior guard Elijah Carter, who led the way with a game-high 28 points and 14 rebounds. “Last year they only beat us by five and we’re a different team now. We bought into the system. This felt good. We want to win the whole thing. It’s exciting.”
Following the opening tip and a quick basket by Paterson Catholic, Hurley felt his club played a great game. The Friars played their game, the one the Cougars had no shot at winning. Slow offense. Swarming defense. Capitalizing on turnovers. Managing the clock.
“This was a nine,” Hurley said, rating his team’s effort on a scale of 10. “We made some mistakes throughout the game, but I thought we had control and we made our free throws.”
Hurley’s formula is so perfect, Adrian Wojnarowski wrote a book on the legendary coach’s tactics entitled, “The Miracle of St. Anthony: A Season With Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball’s Most Improbably Dynasty.” You have to wonder, which is better to watch: Springsteen in concert or Hurley coaching?
Entering Saturday, St. Anthony needs one more win for an overall Non-Public B title and three more for an 11th Tournament of Champions crown.
Everyone overlooked this club from the start. But it crossed your mind this could happen.
Right?
Tri-State Basketball Top 20 (1/31/12)
Sunday Spotlight: Garden State features
Player profiles: 2011 All-Metro Football
New Jersey power rankings: Winter sports
