“Anything Dennis was involved with always was run well and in a professional manner,” continued Hill. “Most of all, he was a great friend to so many and a wonderful person just to be around.

“We miss him so much to this day, but we remember him always and the Dennis Gregory Memorial Classic is one way to honor him for so many of our state’s basketball fans.”

As the Gregory Memorial Classic tips off on Saturday with Cedar Grove vs. Verona, it will be the Jimmy Jandoli Tip-Off game which indeed has a local significance beyond just basketball as it also honors another devoted sports person who was close to the Hill family, who unfortunately passed away in 2019.

“Jimmy Jandoli, who is a former athlete from Cedar Grove, was my sister Karen’s husband and he was a very active youth coach in Verona,” said Hill. “They have two children. My niece was a former cheerleader at Verona and my nephew has stayed active in a number of sports.

“We felt it was a great way to incorporate the spirit and positive rivalry of two great communities and tip off the Classic by having the first game involving both towns that were so important in my brother-in-law’s life.”   

NOTES- Funds generated through the Dennis Gregory Memorial Classic and via the work of The Team Hill Foundation provide aid to programs and academic scholarships for deserving students…Fred Hill Jr., the former head coach at Rutgers and assistant at colleges including Rider, Seton Hall University and Marquette, is the son of legendary Rutgers and Montclair State baseball coach Fred Hill, who won 1,089 games in 39 seasons…Fred Jr.’s uncle Brian Hill is a former NBA coach with the Orlando Magic and Vancouver Grizzlies and coached on the collegiate level as the head man at Lehigh and as an assistant at Penn State.     

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