JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Bob Hurley, Sr., coaches the nation's No. 2 team and is blessed with getting to coach one of the nation's best backcourts, but he concedes it is a bittersweet gift.
St. Anthony (Jersey City) is heading into Wednesday's would-be national championship game against No. 1
St. Patrick (Elizabeth) mostly because
Kyle Anderson and
Myles Mack play for the state's most decorated program a year after Hurley game planned for their talents when they played Paterson Catholic in last March's North Non-Public B final.
Myles Mack has no fear.
Photo by Lonnie Webb
But Paterson Catholic is no more. The former perennial powerhouse lost its last game to St. Anthony last March before shuttering its doors a few months later.
"We're very happy that we have a chance to work with both of these kids," Hurley said. "But at the same time, four straight years a Catholic school has closed (in the metropolitan area). And we don't know that we're not that one down the road. No guarantees."
Without Anderson and Mack, there were no guarantees the Friars would find themselves still vying for Hurley's 26th state title when they face St. Patrick in Wednesday's North Non-Public B final at the Rutgers Athletic Center. Coaching and determination always make St. Anthony an annual contender on the state and national stages, but their two newest stars give them the blue-chip presence that makes this year's team so compelling.
"This is no secret: Myles Mack, Kyle Anderson give me a chance to be talking to you right now about the game Wednesday," Hurley said. "Hey, maybe we could have gotten to the North Jersey (Non-Public B) game against (St. Patrick), but our record wouldn't be such that would make it the game that it is right now."
Paterson Catholic's closing jolted Anderson and Mack. Especially Mack, a Paterson native who grew up aspiring to play for his hometown parochial school and following the likes of NBA veteran Tim Thomas and current Seton Hall floor general Jordan Theodore.
There is still a lingering sadness about leaving their former school, but after some reflection, Anderson and Mack are fully focused on the here and now. They have given the Friars a pair of electrifying presences – the 6-foot-8 Anderson providing a smooth inside-outside game that have him on every major program's radar, while Mack's quickness and court vision will make Rutgers worth watching the next four years.
"It was kind of a hard transition for us," Mack admitted, "but we're here now playing for Coach Hurley. We kind of put the Paterson Catholic stuff to the side for now and are just playing until we win it all."
Added Anderson: "It is kind of a bittersweet situation. It's bitter in that our school closed down and we weren't able to go with them any longer, but it's sweet because we're in the same position we were last year."
More than being Hurley's two most talented players, Anderson, Mack and their families have become well acclimated to the culture of St. Anthony. The Friars' bench boss proudly pointed out how Mack's mother works the concession stand, how the point guard's parents often scouting games he is also watching, and how Anderson's parents watch college games and can finish Hurley's sentences.
Kyle Anderson is smooth and versatile.
Photo by Lonnie Webb
And now, the former Paterson Catholic stars have St. Anthony a win away from taking down No. 1 St. Patrick, and another step closer to adding a fourth national championship to Hurley's legendary resume, which includes a 2009 induction into the NFHS Hall of Fame. This one would be the most legitimate in that a battle between the nation's top two teams would actually be played within a March bracket.
"We're hearing a lot with some people saying we can't beat them and some people saying we're better than them, but we can't really listen to that," Anderson said. "We just have to come out and play our game."
A game that will finally be played after a season of foreshadowing, a could-be national championship contest staged under the bright lights of Mack's future home at the Rutgers Athletic Center.
"That's going to be great for me," Mack said. "Hopefully I play well and hopefully our team plays well and we get the win."
