Monday, March 17, 2008

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

St. Anthony head coach Bob Hurley has over 900 career wins and one more would give him this year's state and national championships.

EAST RUTHERFORD – Legendary St. Anthony’s head coach Bob Hurley sets three goals for his players each and every year:

1) Work hard every day
2) Get better as a team every day,
3) Win the Parochial B state title.

This year’s senior-dominated team has done all three, which makes for a successful season in the eyes of Coach Hurley. But the elephant in the room is whether the Friars can finish undefeated and earn not only New Jersey’s Tournament of Champions title, but also USA Today’s mythical national championship.

The answer to that question will come on Monday night when the top-seeded Friars take on second-seeded Science Park of Newark in the Tournament of Champions final; which will take place at the Izod Center in East Rutherford at 8:00 p.m.

“Our goal is to win Parochial B, but we know everyone else is going to measure us by whether we win it all or not,” said St. Anthony’s Rutgers–bound two-guard Mike Rosario, one of six current Friars that will play Division 1 basketball next year.

To do just that and win it all, the Rosario and the Friars will have to beat Science Park, a team that has shown flashes of both brilliance and inconsistency on both ends of the floor throughout this season. They are led by lightning-quick point guard Anthony Baskerville and do-everything forward Kenneth Ortiz.

“We know (Science Park) has got some tough players and they are going to give it everything they have,” said St. Anthony’s Jio Fontan, who will play at Fordham next season. “But we are more concerned about what we have to do to be successful. It says St. Anthony’s on the front of our uniforms and we’re very proud to wear those uniforms, but we know because of that and us being so successful for so long that every team is going to give us their ‘A’ game. If you’re not ready for that, anything can happen. Our seniors missed out on this opportunity for years, and we’re not going to let our last chance slip away.”

St. Anthony’s has a plethora of talent all over the court. Besides Rosario and Fontan in the backcourt, they also have Marquette-bound Tyshawn Taylor, A.J. Rogers, and one of the country’s top juniors in 6-6 guard Dominic Cheek, who generally round out the starting lineup.

Cheek hurt his knee in the pre-game warm-ups before the Friars’ 76-41 victory over Immaculata in the T of C semifinals and did not take the floor. His status is questionable for tonight’s game. On the flip side, the Friars have the luxury of having two Division 1 players that come off the bench.

Alberto Estwick, who will join Fontan at Fordham next year, took Cheek’s place in the starting lineup last Friday and will do so again if Cheek is unable to play. The sixth man is Travon Woodall, one of the team’s co-captains, who will play for Big East tournament champion Pitt next year.

“It’s nice to have kids that have that much talent, that much heart, and that much experience coming off of our bench,” said Hurley. “Alberto (Estwick) has given us quality minutes off the bench all year. Travon (Woodall) has been our sparkplug whenever we needed it. Some kids might not be able to handle coming off the bench when he could start for any other team in the state. Travon is a vocal player and one who can do a little bit of everything.

“But more importantly, he is a team-first guy and the right guy who can handle coming off the bench and still make an immediate impact on a game.”

Comparisons are already being made between this team to the 1989 Friars’ team led by Bobby Hurley, Terry Dehere, and Jerry Walker and the 1996 team that also won the Tournament of Champions crown and finished ranked No. 1 in the country. But Bob Hurley Sr. knows better then to make such comparisons before the Friars clear their final hurdle.

“I can’t compare this team to the ’89 team or any other team because we have some unfinished business,” added Hurley, who notched his 900th career win earlier this year. “Should we win (tonight), then we can talk about it. But for now, we still have a game we have to prepare for and we need to stay focused on the task at hand.”

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