The Miracle of St. Anthony: The Story of Basketball Coach Bobby Hurley, Sr

In American society, we too often associate talent with money. We assume the highly priced lawyer is better than the public defender or the more expensive personal trainer is better than the less expensive alternative. However, hundreds of contradictions exist: the highest paid actor is rarely the best, just the most popular who chooses to act in blockbuster hits; the highest paid basketball player is not necessarily the best, but the one best able to capitalize on his marketing potential. Bobby Hurley, Sr. is another example.

In The Miracle of St. Anthony, Adrian Wojnarowski explores one of the best basketball coaches and teachers in America. In a society with multi-million dollar NBA coaching contracts and college coaches staring in television campaigns, Hurley continues to win championships and mold young men across the river from the glitz of Manhattan in Jersey City. While Larry Brown constantly makes headlines in the Big Apple, Hurley does things his way-the right way-at a small Catholic high school away from the bright lights of the big city.

Miracle chronicles a year at St Amthony, from one of the nuns battle with cancer to the school's impending clusre after being abandoned by the diocese to the eventual undefeated basketball season for a senior class of underachievers. Through it all, Hurley is the larger than life character, the one ignoring college/pro job offers to conduct moreclinics to raise money to keep the school's doors open.

In a society that celebrates mediocrity, where people constantly compromise to make life easier, Hurley refuses to succomb to the world's pressures and relax; he demands excellence from his players. At a time when adults lower the bar to build artificial self-esteem for kids, Hurley refuses to relax his standards. His methods and success prove players and people rise to the challenge when they know somebody cares about them; he coaches kids from the hood, with all the baggage and stereotypes associated with an African-American male from the hood, and gets them to play hard, to play unselfishly, to put the team first, to represent their school, to learn the game the right way. His unrelenting nature nurtures the best in these student-athletes, rather than immediately stereotyping them as uncoachable or undisciplined, as many choose to see them.

Wojnarowski managed to pick the ultimate season to follow; Hurley's most unlikely undeafeated team during a year when the school's impending closure made national headlines and garnered support from NBA players who had never met or played for Hurley, but who appreciated what he did for the kids in Jersey City. Miracle is the story of the power of one to make a difference through athletics. Hurley's story is an inspiration for coaches and an enjoyable read for non-coaches interested in the plight of an urban high school and its students.