By Jim Hague
It’s not every day when North Arlington gets a Hall of Famer to stop by and pay a visit.
But that’s what happened last Friday, when legendary St. Anthony High School basketball coach Bob Hurley, a 2010 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, was the final guest speaker at the first North Arlington Recreation Basketball Camp.
The week-long camp, which featured about 50 boys ages 9 through 14, was held at North Arlington High School and was conducted by Ben Gamble, who is Hurley’s top assistant coach at the Jersey City-based St. Anthony, which won the national championship last season, the school’s fourth national crown.
Friday, he had the group of young hopeful basketball players captivated.
“In here today, we could have an outstanding basketball player,” Hurley told the youngsters. “He might not have grown yet. The skills may not have developed fully. But you have to really believe in yourself. And when people are critical of you, you either put it in the back of your head or you go out and prove them wrong. Don’t let a day go by when you don’t try to reach your dream.”
To read the full story, see this week’s issue of The Observer.
