“The brotherhood on this year’s team has been great,” said the Panthers’ 4-year hoops star who was also a standout wide receive and linebacker for the school’s playoff championship 13-1 football team this past fall, and is an outstanding catcher for the baseball squad in the spring. “The seniors have done a good job and our younger guys, many of whom did not play varsity last year, have really stepped up to help make this a real fun season, and we’re looking to win a lot more games along the way.”

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Jimmy Jandoli, who gave so much to youth sports in Verona and Cedar Grove, passed away in 2019. He was married to Karen Hill who is the daughter of the legendary Rutgers baseball coach Fred Hill and sister of Fred Hill, Jr., whose Team Hill Foundation puts together the annual Dennis Gregory Memorial Classic.

“Jimmy is a former athlete from Cedar Grove who was a very active youth coach in Verona,” said Hill Jr. “They have two children. My niece was a former cheerleader at Verona and my nephew has been active in a number of sports.

“I have a lot of emotions with this event with great memories about both Dennis, who I worked with for many years, and my brother-in-law Jimmy who was such a great guy. And, I also lost my dad during the same year that Dennis passed away so there is of course sadness in that they are no longer with us.

“But, with events like the Dennis Gregory Memorial Classic we can continue to honor him and Jimmy as well, which is a terrific way to honor both of them!”

NOTES- Russo, an outstanding catcher in baseball, will attend Salve Regina to pursue a college career on the diamond…Cedar Grove coach TJ Jones, who is in his ninth season guiding the Panthers, played his high school basketball at Verona for current Hillbillies coach Eric McElroy…Cedar Grove junior guard Owen Greene demonstrated a fine perimeter touch while sinking three of the Panthers seven 3-pointers and finishing with 11 points…Verona senior forward Jack Harmon did a solid job off the boards with 9 rebounds to go along with 6 points. His frontcourt mate Herman contributed 8 rebounds, two steals and two blocks to go along with his 27 points…Cedar Grove’s last victory vs. Verona before Saturday was Feb. 20, 2018, when they edged the ‘Billies, 39-36, for the second of two victories vs. their longtime rivals that 2017-2018 campaign…Russo’s best friend and football and basketball teammate Stephen Paradiso, the 2024 Group 1 all-state quarterback and record-setting passer, is not playing this hoops season as he allows a knee injury to continue to heal as he eyes a college football career….Cedar Grove is undefeated (5-0) in the Super Essex Conference-National Division, while Verona is a solid 5-0 in the SEC-Freedom Division as both teams vie for division titles this season.

Jimmy Jandoli Tip-Off at Dennis Gregory Memorial Classic:
VERONA (7-3) 14 11 12 9 -46
CEDAR GROVE (8-3) 17 7 11 15 -50

Verona: Will Herman 12-0-5-29, Jack Harmon 3-0-0-6, Luke Sampers 1-0-1-3, Gianlucca Checchetto 0-0-3-3, Sebastian Rodriguez 1-0-0-2, Shawn McElroy 0-0-0-0, Joe Farmer 0-0-0-0, Mason Rosi 0-1-0-3, Rich Camacho 0-0-0-0, Sal Santos-Ditrani 0-0-0-0. Totals: 17-1-9-46

Cedar Grove: Nick Russo 4-2-3-17, Jermaine Russell 3-0-4-10, Nick Chen 0-1-0-3, Owen Greene 1-3-0-11, Matthew Kuilan 2-1-0-9, Will Taggart 0-0-0-0, Ryan Miller 0-0-0-0, Bjorn Bernardez 0-0-0-0. Totals: 10-7-9-50