Like father, like son
Dan Hurley takes coaching job at St. Benedict’s Prep
After his collegiate basketball playing days were done at Seton Hall, Danny Hurley just figured it would be natural for him to pursue coaching as a career. When the position for assistant coach at Rutgers University under head coach Kevin Bannon opened up, Hurley quickly jumped at the chance.
"At the time, I thought it was a great move for me, a good way to start my career," Hurley said.
However, after three years, things didn’t exactly turn out the way Hurley had planned. The college coaching game was not to his liking.
"Things weren’t going right at Rutgers," said Hurley, the younger son of legendary St. Anthony head coach Bob Hurley. "I did a lot of thinking about which direction I wanted to go in. The college game had really become a drag. I never felt completely comfortable with the landscape of the profession, the travel, the recruiting. It totally consumes people’s lives. After a while, it was getting harder to get up and motivate myself. It became difficult to have a sense of pride in what I was doing."
A lot of that came from watching his father mold the minds of adolescents for almost 30 years.
"I watched my father over the years and he’s a real happy, satisfied person," Hurley said. "He feels like he’s doing a public service by teaching kids, and I learned that I feel the same way. But it’s much better seeing the development of a 13 or 14-year-old than someone who is 19 or 20. The kids that age are much more impressionable. Just seeing the impression my father had on kids was an inspiration for me to try to do the same."
With that in mind, Dan Hurley (please call him ‘Dan’ now, as a favor to his wife) wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps, as a high school basketball coach.
A family friend, Jersey City attorney Brian Doherty, is an alumnus of St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark. Doherty knew of long-time St. Benedict’s coach Hank Cordeiro’s plans to retire and quickly thought of young Hurley.
"Brian knew that his alma mater wanted to take it up a notch and I was grateful that he thought so highly of me," the 28-year-old Hurley said. "I knew that the school had an excellence in academics and had good facilities. I think it’s a place that really deserves to have great sports programs. I really thought it was a good fit for me."
With that, Dan Hurley became the new head coach at St. Benedict’s Prep, a private school nestled in the University section of Newark, a school on the rise with its dormitories and increased enrollment. Hurley will not only coach basketball, but will also teach history and work in the admissions office.
"I’ll be able to stay busy," Hurley said. "I think it’s a great chance to work for a great school and a great headmaster [Father Edwin Leahy]. I’m very excited to get this chance. I don’t think I can ever see myself going back to college, back to the old lifestyle. I think this is a move that is going to make me a better husband, a better father, a better person. And I’m going to get a chance to feel good about myself."
Added Hurley, "When I was playing [at St. Anthony and Seton Hall], I knew the game as well as people I played with. I was sometimes my worst enemy, because I knew all of the intricacies that others didn’t understand. That sort of hurt me as a player, but it will help me as a head coach."
And it was only fitting that he would choose the same career that has turned his father into a New Jersey basketball icon.
"The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree," Hurley said. "Being close to the kids’ age and knowing that I played competitively at a high level, they’ll know that I still have the player’s mentality in me. But I also intend on making this a program. I bring with me a tremendous passion for the game and I want kids who carry that same passion. It’s a demanding place, both academically and athletically, and I enjoy that challenge."
However, there is a challenge that will not take place anytime in the near future. Nearly everyone has asked Dan if he’s going to schedule a game against his father’s team in the near future. No such chance.
"I think we’ll scrimmage, but I can’t see a game happening," said the younger Hurley, who will be helped on the sidelines by his older brother, Bobby, the former Duke All-American and player in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings. "It would almost be like playing Bobby [in the NCAA Tournament in 1992]. But I kind of think I’d have a much harder time going against my dad. Having Bobby with me will give me valuable experience."
Hurley will also call upon the experiences he’s already enjoyed as a player and an assistant coach.
"I’ve learned a lot playing for [former Seton Hall coach] P.J. [Carlesimo] and working with Kevin Bannon, but 95 percent of the things I’ve learned comes from listening to things my Dad said," Hurley said. "Things he taught to me as a player, things I just picked up from him. Just living with him, I learned more about the game than anyone. I’ll call upon that a lot."
As well he should.
Dan Hurley is making his first attempt at running his own basketball camp as well. From July 30 through August 3, the Hurley Basketball Camp will take place at St. Benedict’s Prep’s gym, for boys ages seven through 15, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Both Dan and Bobby will help with teaching fundamentals to all youngsters. For further information, call (973) 792-5704. Dan Hurley would be glad to hear from anyone from his Jersey City roots.