Top 100 Irish America's Finest In Sport "What we talk about is great effort outstanding preparat

Serving largely poor and working class students, the school has fewer than 250 students, and only about 130 are boys. And yet, from that humble pool, Hurley has created a dynasty.

As a profile in the New York Daily News put it: "The training and discipline of [Hurley's] team carry over into academics. The coach can be proud not only of the five NBA players and first-round draft picks whose careers he nurtured, but also of the 200 who played college hoops. . In Hurley's 33 years at St. Anthony's, all but one of his players went on to higher education."

Meanwhile, former Salem High School coach Jack O'Brien has left an indelible mark on the lives of many basketball players both in Salem in the mid-1980s and more recently at Charlestown High,when he led his all-black basketball team to many state championships.

Off the court, O'Brien, a Medford, Massachusetts native, who has also been involved with the Plummer Home, a residential home in Salem for boys from troubled homes, inspires his players to work hard not just in sports but in the classroom.

"He has an incredible record of getting guys into college," says Neil Swidey, author of The Assist: Hoops, Hope and the Game of their Lives (Public Affairs).

The Assist is the result of a three-part series Swidey did on Coach O'Brien and the Charlestown High team for the Globe Magazine in 2004. He went on to spend three years documenting the lives of O'Brien and his players.

Swidey's roots are Irish as well. His maternal grandfather, Patrick Ridge, was born in Galway, while Patrick's wife Nora O'Brien was born in Clare.

Justin McBride

Justin McBride rides bulls for a living. On the Professional Bull Riders Build Ford Tough Series since 1999, McBride has had his ribs broken, his lung punctured and his ankle shattered in a sport where making mistakes means a lot more than being told off by your coach.

But such an unforgiving sport produces hardy men, and McBride is one of the hardiest. The two-time world champion (2005 and 2007) had an amazing season last year when he not only clinched his second world title, but also recorded the most tour victories in one season (eight) and the most career wins (30) to date.

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Nster.com