On, Tuesday, May 10th, the 2011 MaxPreps Basketball Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard headed over to Jersey City, NJ, just west of Manhattan, to
St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) High School to honor this legendary boys basketball program with its legendary Hall of Fame head coach Bob Hurley Sr.
Out of over 20,000 boys teams across the country, the St. Anthony Friars were ranked No. 1 nationally according to the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 poll. Back in the 2007-2008 season, the Friars were also ranked No. 1 in the country. The Friars also won their amazing 26th state championship including a dramatic victory over in-state rival St. Patrick's of Elizabeth in what was a classic showdown between No. 1 and No. 2 in the country. The Friars also won their 11th New Jersey Tournament of Champions, an end of the season tournament featuring all the state champions, and finished undefeated with a 33-0 record. Wow!
The ceremony started at 10:00am when the entire student body filed into the school auditorium. Principal Charles Tortorella acted as the master of ceremonies and kicked off the trophy presentation. Sergeant First Class Benjamin Ouckama from the New Jersey Army National Guard led everyone in the pledge of allegiance. Once the pledge of allegiance was recited, Mr. Tortorella invited Steve Spiewak from MaxPreps, a New Jersey and Hudson County native, to come up to the microphone and speak about MaxPreps.com and the Friar's amazing achievements. After reflecting on the impact the Friars have in the local community, Steve then introduced SFC Ouckama to take center stage and present the Army National Guard national ranking trophy to Coach Hurley. SFC Ouckama spoke about what the basketball program and specifically this team has done for St. Anthony High School as well as the Jersey City community. He commended Coach Hurley on this year's outstanding season and his success over his 39 years at the helm. "It takes commitment, determination and hard work to complete the mission and we look for these traits in our men and women in the National Guard," said SFC Ouckama. Coach Hurley and the team accepted the prestigious trophy to a thunderous applause. "I want to thank MaxPreps, the Army National Guard, the student, the faculty, the community, and mostly importantly the team," said Coach Hurley. Coach Hurley spoke about how this moment in time should not be the highlight of his player's lives, but rather a lesson learned when hard work, commitment to a cause, and determination are applied to a task. He challenged his players to think beyond this season and apply those same principles that catapulted the Friars to the top position in high school basketball to every day life.
After the ceremony, the team gathered for formal pictures and interviews with the media, WABC-TV and WWOR-TV. Congratulations to the St. Anthony Friars and Coach Bob Hurley on a tremendous season!!! We will be back next year for sure!
