‘60 Minutes’ Feature Caps An Epic Season For St. Anthony Coach Bob Hurley

The year is young, and Bob Hurley, the legendary high school basketball coach, already has had a pretty good 2011.

Earlier this year, Hurley earned his 1,000th career victory as his St. Anthony team beat St. Mary’s of Jersey City by 30 points. Later in the season, he coached St. Anthony to a somewhat-unexpected win over top-ranked St. Patrick in the de facto high school national championship game. And he and the Friars capped a perfect 33-0 basketball season with a win over Plainfield in New Jersey’s tournament of champions.

And on Sunday night, the old-school coach got featured on “60 Minutes” in a good way -- meaning the interview was scheduled, and no grizzled reporters showed up at his gym unannounced.

The video of the “60 Minutes” feature and more are after the jump.

The crux of the story: Coach Hurley doesn’t recruit, his players all go to college, he gets the most out of his teams and he does it for next to nothing, all while winning -- as his 24 state championships, three national titles and spot in the basketball hall of fame will attest to.

And after more parents in the New York and New Jersey area watch the “60 Minutes” segment, he won’t ever be tempted to recruit, because Hurley likely will be flooded with players signing up to play for him at the small Catholic school. Never before has it seemed so right to send your son to play for a man who could end up calling them “Candy Ass” or “Softie,” as Hurley did with the CBS cameras rolling during one of his practices.

Ultimately, the results speak for themselves. And if that wasn’t enough, his players -- even his famous sons, Bobby and Danny -- all praised his work and efforts on their behalf. The mothers interviewed during the segment also seemed more than pleased. And this is despite Hurley embracing his “old school” label. “In this day and age,” Hurley said, “I’m still one of the most demanding people that the kids are going to come across.”

And if other New Jersey coaches are looking for a reprieve any time soon, don’t expect it -- Hurley has aims on sticking around until his grandson takes the court, and that remains about 14 years away. That’s bad news for the competition but great news for basketball.