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By ZACHARY PEKALE
Cronkite News
PHOENIX — Summer vacation marks the end of an academic year at many schools. But for St. Anthony’s High School in Jersey City, N.J., there would not be another term to look forward to following the summer of 2017.
After 65 years in operation, the New Jersey private school shut its doors one final time. Known as a basketball powerhouse, closing down also marked an end to the storied coaching career of Bob Hurley Sr.
He took over the program in 1972, guiding the Friars to 28 state championships and eight undefeated seasons in 45 seasons, culminating with his induction to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
That’s why Arizona State’s participation in the Air Force Reserve Hall of Fame Classic, a triple-header event put on by the Springfield, Massachusetts-based Hall and held in Los Angeles on Dec. 7, means so much to ASU’s men’s basketball coach.
“It’s a memory I’ll always have,” Bobby Hurley said of the 2010 induction, which included the likes of NBA stars Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen in addition to the elder Hurley.
Among the St. Anthony’s teams to achieve perfection is the 1989 team, led by a teenage Hurley at point guard, bonding him to his father’s legacy.
For Hurley, his recollections of the drive from New Jersey to Springfield remain vivid. It’s a place he put up shots at a young age and developed a love for the game that’s had a large influence throughout his family.
While the Hall of Fame affirms a career defined by success for the eldest Hurley, ASU will look to make a statement of its own at Staples Center.
One year removed from a 95-85 win over then-No. 2 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse, the Sun Devils are set to take on No. 5 Nevada, beginning a four-game stretch that will likely be its most difficult of the non-conference schedule.
The teams last played in 2011, but when they meet next at least one familiar face will be on the sideline. Coach Eric Musselman is in his fourth year with the Wolf Pack, parlaying a Sweet Sixteen appearance from a season ago into a Top 10 ranking with three returning starters.
Before accepting the Nevada job, Musselman spent two seasons as an associate head coach under former ASU coach Herb Sendek.
Though Nevada likely enters this matchup as the favorite, the Sun Devils are 6-0 and just outside of the national rankings. Hurley’s unit previously knocked off one ranked team, then- No.15 Mississippi State, and has won 19 consecutive games in non-conference play.
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