CALDWELL- 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.
But, he will most certainly be present in spirit as the annual Dennis Gregory Memorial Classic comes back to Caldwell University’s Newman Center for two days of intriguing matchups with 10 games.
“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 have on Saturday and Sunday at Caldwell U!”
Saturday will begin with a great local rivalry, Cedar Grove vs. Verona in the Jimmy Jandoli Tip-Off at noon as Caldwell U’s Newman Center which will be the venue for a couple of days of entertaining hoops including appearances by some of the state’s top teams.
Following the Verona-Cedar Grove game to tip things off on Saturday at noon, it will be the Patrick School National Team vs. College Achieve Asbury Park’s National Team at 1:30 followed by Hudson Catholic vs. Bloomfield at 3, St. Peter’s Prep vs. Seton Hall Prep at 4:30 in the resumption of what has been a great rivalry through the years, and then Gill St. Bernard’s vs. Ramapo at 6.
On Sunday, there is a terrific girls matchup, Union Catholic vs. Mount St. Dominic, to tip things off at noon followed by four more boys contests: Caldwell vs. Ridge at 1:30, Don Bosco Prep vs. Manasquan at 3, Bergen Catholic vs. St. Rose at 4:30 and Ridgefield vs. College Achieve at 6.
Gregory spent time around the game he loved all over the Garden State, whether it might be in Middlesex, Passaic, Essex or Bergen County, where he is from.
“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,” said Hill. “Dennis even coached CYO ball in Rutherford and 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 U 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.
