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The Miracle of St. Anthony: A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball's Most Improbable Dynasty | 
 enlarge | Author: Adrian Wojnarowski
Publisher: Gotham
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy New: $0.01
You Save: $14.99 (100%)
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Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 615848
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.3 x 1
ISBN: 1592401864
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.323
EAN: 9781592401864
ASIN: 1592401864
Publication Date: January 19, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new, never opened, in stock, and ships right now.
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Product Description
In a city mired in endless decay, where the youth suffer through all the horrors of urban blight, hope comes in a most unassuming form: a tiny brick schoolhouse run by two Felician nuns where a singular basketball genius takes teenagers from the mean streets of Jersey City and turns them into champions on the hardcourt. Coach Bob Hurley had been working miracles at St. Anthony High School for over thirty years, winning state and national championships and offering his players rescue from their surroundings through college scholarships, when he met his most dysfunctional team yet. In The Miracle of St. Anthony Adrian Wojnarowski follows Hurley through a gripping and heartrending season as he struggles to lead a troubled team to glory through his unparalleled understanding of the game and his ceaseless determination to see no more children lost to these streets. In The Miracle of St. Anthony, acclaimed sports journalist Adrian Wojnarowski follows Hurley through a gripping and heartrending season, as he struggles to lead a troubled team to glory through his unparalleled understanding of the game and his ceaseless determination to see no more children lost to the city streets.
Acclaim for The Miracle of St. Anthony:
It takes two ingredients to make a book special: a great story and a great storyteller. The Miracle of St. Anthony has both. Bob Hurley is a remarkable coach; Adrian Wojnarowski is his equal as a writer.
JOHN FEINSTEIN, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF A SEASON ON THE BRINK
Takes you through this miracle season where this high school basketball team didnt have the greatest talent but somehow came out on top . . . [Coach Hurley] is dedicated to these city kids and helping them overcome the obstacles that the city can offer. A lot of his lessons are not about basketball, but about life, and doing things the right way.
BILL RAFTERY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Compelling.
Chicago Tribune
A classic.
Boston Globe
Astonishing
New York Post
Hard to put down.
The Washington Post
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| Customer Reviews: Read 31 more reviews...
 Great Coaching Story--Can Learn a Lot! February 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a very good inspirational book about an underdog inner city basketball team rising up to be the best, coached by Bob Hurley--best high school coach in small, broken down parochial school. Kids all had problems and he taught character and perseverance as well as basketball. It's tells how the coach motivated and taught his players. Parts moved a bit slow but it's definitely worth your time reading this one!
Coaching (and teaching) tips I got out of it included the following:
*Always keep the bar high and require respect.
*Never let anyone slide--keep on them all the time.
*Coach all the players, not just the best.
*Make kids earn your respect and ignore them until they do.
*Give everyone a role--even those on the bench.
*Use drastic measures (wrestling practice) to punish sloppy playing.
*Use the drastic measure practice for motivating in the future.
*Let the players experience the glory, keep low profile as coach.
*Help players make good decisions concerning their futures.
Karen Arlettaz Zemek, author of "My Funny Dad, Harry"
Fantastic! December 24, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
What a great, inspirational book. On top of that, it was only $5 when I purchased it, so you can't go wrong there. If you enjoy basketball, I strongly suggest you read this book!
 Bob Hurley is a total throwback November 15, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read this a few years back and I really enjoyed it. I have always found books about geniuses within their little realm fascinating. Bob Hurley's success is not attributed to a new revolutionary school of coaching thought, but rather basic hard work, discipline and commitment.
Despite its small enrollment, St. Anthony's teams have been pretty stacked over the years. That is why I always thought the St. Anthony's mystique (i.e. Poor little Catholic school in Jersey City) was overblown a bit. Give anyone an MacDonald all-american and a couple of All-NYC type players and you'll have success at the HS level. But this particular season, the players at St. Anthony's were something a bit less. Good players, certainly, but not the highly recruited types that usually populate the top HS Programs in the country. Hurley guiding this ragtag bunch of ballers to the heights of success says alot about the guys ability to coach and motivate. Its a great story that would have been something less if it chronicled one of the other St. Anthony's seasons.
Indeed, Hurley is a tough coach that borders on verbally absuive. But in this day and age of coddled athletes, he's refreshing. He's unambigious about what his expectations are and kids respond to his style. He's not a mean, cruel guy he just wants to get the most out of his players.
It would be a good read for coaches of youngsters through teenagers.
Buy this book August 9, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
If you're a coach this is for you. If you're a sports fan this is for you. I loved it so much I bought a book for my entire coaching staff. And we are a hockey team! There are a lot lessons and values that Coach Hurley teaches. More importantly it's about life. He never let up on these kids and pushed them to success. Challenged them to succeed. At that age level they need guidance, they need someone to sponsor them. Then its up to them to follow the path Coach Hurley gives them. It's amazing how a time tested path still can't lead some kids. It's a struggle between the kids backgrounds and the future they can have
Wow what a great book. What I liked is that these kids are now in college so we can follow their careers.
The one player that sticks out to me is Sean McCready. Great talent, bad guidance (family). Now he is sitting out the 2008 season because he transferred. Coach Hurley was right!
I also loved the fact that he sweeps the floor. That's his time, and we all need our own time. But coach is dedicated to a school that is struggling. There is no way a school like this should be on the verge of bankruptcy. Coach could leave and make millions, but he doesn't. Because if he does the school will close.
BUY THE BOOK
The Street Stops at St. Anthony's June 5, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Adrian Wojnarowski's "The Miracle of St. Anthony: A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball's Most Improbable Dynasty" is one of the best sports and leadership books I have read this past year.
St. Anthony's is a private Catholic High School in Jersey City, NJ, with 230 students (120 boys). Students come from an area where 16% pass the HS proficiency test and where the local drug-infested, back-sliding culture has a hold on the kids. Despite its size and location, St. Anthony's basketball teams have gone undefeated four times, have won two USA Today national titles, and 24 New Jersey Parochial state championships. The basketball program has developed 200 college players, including 5 who went on to the National Basketball Association.
St. Anthony's is a special and safe place under Srs. Felicia and Alan and legendary Coach, Bob Hurley - the streets stop here. Their focus in athletics and academics has been to help kids get to the finish line. They share a collective value that there is no shortcut to success.
While Sister Felicia and Sister Alan play prominent roles in the success of St. Anthony's, "The Miracle of St. Anthony" is mostly about Bob Hurley and the class of 2004 - the most athletically and socially underachieving team in St. Anthony's history. Yet, under Hurley's coaching leadership, the team went undefeated, winning the NJ State Championship and was named by USA Today as the top high school team of the year.
Hurley struggles with the problems of the inner city and sees the potential in these kids that they do not see in themselves. He has always been a disciple of John Wooden... fundamentals, well-conditioned, team play, and defense...and he has always been a no-nonsense driver.
He creates an expectation of performance and accountability that the kids will not find anywhere else in their lives, and helps them out the door to life with values and a voice to become the best they can. And despite his daunting ways, the kids respect Hurley and when returning after graduation, they always come home to the warm embrace of family. The relationship changes from tough task master to a friend.
"St. Anthony's" covers the entire basketball year from pre-season preparations to the championship game. Wojnarowski provides the ups and downs of the season - injuries, players leaving the team, tough wins, and all the key relationships that makes St. Anthony's the special place it is.
This is a great read for anyone interested in coaching, leadership, and basketball.
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