It’s a varied showcase of high school basketball which would make Dennis Gregory quite proud even though he’d be happier if he could oversee the proceedings himself.
However, he will most certainly be present in spirit as the annual Dennis Gregory Memorial Classic comes to Montclair State University’s Panzer Gymnasium for three days of intriguing matchups this weekend
“It will be typical of a hoops event he would have run,” said Fred Hill, Jr., who heads The Team Hill Foundation which puts together the Gregory Memorial Classic. “From his days with the Hoop Group, working with me at Rutgers, overseeing the Metro Classic at FDU, the Reebok ABCD Camp or working as an assistant athletic director at Caldwell University near the end of his life, Dennis just loved to be part of Jersey basketball and he loved being around the people which make this state such a hoops hotbed.
“We’re thrilled to bring all the matchups we’ll be having Friday, Saturday and Sunday to Montclair State!”
Friday’s Day 1 action begins at 5 p.m. with a matchup involving towns not too far from Gregory’s own Bergen County roots as Emerson Boro meets Manchester Regional, followed at 7 p.m. with a superb Catholic school rivalry contest as Essex County’s No. 1 team, Seton Hall Prep, takes on Delbarton which is one of Morris County’s best programs.
Then, on Day 2, this Saturday the action starts with a great local rivalry when Cedar Grove faces Verona in the Jimmy Jandoli Tip-Off at noon. That will be followed by Hudson Catholic vs. Point Pleasant Boro at 1:30 p.m., St. Peter’s Prep vs. The Patrick School at 3 p.m., St. Benedict’s vs. St. Mary’s of Rutherford at 4:30 p.m., Bloomfield vs. Clifton at 6 p.m. and finishing with the 7:30 p.m. nightcap of Compass Academy vs. The Patrick School’s regional squad.
Sunday’s Day 3 action commences with Compass facing College Achieve Asbury Park at noon and continues with Ridge vs. Oratory Prep at 1:30 p.m., Manasquan vs. Rutgers Prep at 3 p.m., Caldwell vs. Wayne Hills at 4:30 p.m. and ending with an attractive girls hoops contest as Union Catholic takes on Mount St. Dominic.
While the hoops action continues over the three days, thoughts and conversations will still include thoughts about one of the great ambassadors of basketball that the Garden State has ever known.
“Dennis is from Rutherford and his first college coaching assignment was as a graduate assistant to Tom Green at FDU-Rutherford which was what it was called before being changed to Felician,” continued Hill. “Dennis even coached CYO ball in Rutherford at St. Mary’s. He was one of New Jersey’s greatest ambassadors of the sport.
“Dennis was a jack of all trades in the sport whether it was in marketing the game, organizing events like he did at the FDU-Rothman Center, including the Metro Classic, or coaching and also working behind the scenes for so many basketball programs and organizations.
“He was one of a kind and we’re so happy to honor his memory with this classic which we’ve held at Caldwell in the past, which is the place where he worked right up until the end of his life.”
Gregory, who served as director of basketball operations on Hill’s staff at Rutgers back in 2006, and once also coached high school teams at both Don Bosco Prep and Queen of Peace, passed away on Dec. 29, 2018 while he was also helping oversee the proceedings at Caldwell University as the annual West Essex Area Holiday Hoops Festival with Cedar Grove, Verona, Caldwell and West Essex had just completed its opening round while getting ready for its boys and girls holiday tourney championship finals in the Newman Center.
Right up until his very last night in this basketball world, he was ultra-active and continued to keep busy helping to coordinate and also promote a hoops event while always looking to try and make things run smoothly.
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