Dennis Gregory: A friend to many

RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Friday night called for a high school game in the Jack Stone Shootout. Host St. Mary of Rutherford entertained Cristo Rey of Newark in a semifinal. A fast-paced contest wound up getting called with 43 seconds to play in the first half and the teams knotted at 24. A slippery floor due to condensation from unseasonably high temperatures forced a few players to slip in one thirty-second stretch. The officials made the right call in suspending the game.

The next morning a trip to social media to find out details on when the game would be resumed. Matt Stone, the St. Mary AD and tournament director, would have the information. A trip to the outstanding Facebook forum The Basketball Barbershop saw a post from Stone. Dennis Gregory had passed away during the night. Sean Pena, a fellow administrator on the “Barbershop”, said he watched Wednesday’s quarterfinals at the tournament with Dennis, who was in normal good spirits. Obviously the news of his passing was shocking as well as sad.

Gregory was 55 years of age. His most recent position was in the athletic administration of nearby Caldwell University. Beside the Caldwell duties, Dennis was extremely active on the basketball scene for over three decades. Coach, Administrator, media contact, organizer – Dennis virtually did it all, many times in full mode multitasking.

Saturday evening the St. Mary-Cristo Rey semi final was resumed. The host Gaels pulled it out to earn a trip to the final. Matt Stone commented, “On that night we had two angels watching over St. Mary.” The reference being his late father Jack, whose memory the tournament honors, and Dennis. Matt Stone held Dennis in highest esteem, saying “throughout my life, my coach, my boss, my mentor, but most importantly my friend.”

My first time personally meeting Dennis was in the early Eighties. He was working with the National Invitation Tournament office. Always polite and helpful, you could get a sense, even then, he harbored a genuine passion for the game.

Over the decades Dennis would serve in a variety of capacities. Head coach at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, Queen of Peace (North Arlington, NJ) and an assistant at FDU and Rutgers under Fred Hill. Dennis also coached teams at the CYO and AAU level. He also worked for the Hoop Group and helped transform a small summer high school tournament into a major event and must see for college coaches on the recruiting trail. He was instrumental in attracting the ABCD Camp to Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Rothman Center. Dennis organized many tournaments, staying from dawn to dusk to ensure the events ran smoothly. From making a schedule change to unloading cases of Gatorade, no task was trivial to him. There simply is not enough space to list all his accomplishments and contributions.

Some of these events yours truly would officiate and write about the games. On arrival to the site Dennis had a tournament book (coaches often used) ready to help my coverage – graciously and thankfully free of charge.

He did not seem too active in the girls game. Regardless, if a girls event was on tap Dennis gave his usual outstanding effort toward running or helping out at it. A few times the Hoop Group ran a girls high school tournament. Dennis was right in the mix, putting the full effort all day with the same attention to detail as he did with the boys.

Dennis was not big on officiating from a general standpoint. Dennis often said players should play the game and call their own fouls like on a playground. Still, he was helpful to many in the stripes. Again, yours truly often worked a CYO Christmas tournament he ran while at Don Bosco. I still fondly recall cold nights traveling Route 17 to Ramsey. Once he felt I was able to handle a higher level, he made it possible to enjoy some great opportunities to work.

No surprise the tributes in Dennis’ memory were numerous and poignant. Among them:

• Darren Savino, the widely respected Cincinnati assistant, wrote on social media “DG (Dennis Gregory) loved basketball…learned so much from him in my four years working together at Rutgers.”
• Todd Palmer played at Don Bosco for Dennis and later Notre Dame. Palmer coached a few years under Bob Hurley at St. Anthony’s as well. Taking to social media, Palmer noted Gregory was directly responsible for him attending Don Bosco and Notre Dame. During his AAU days Dennis would keep Palmer, competing on a circuit with the likes of Tim Thomas and Vince Carter, from getting too much of an ego. After a very difficult first year Palmer wanted to transfer out of Notre Dame. Dennis talked him out of it. Palmer stayed and said, “Notre Dame is very much a part of what I am.” Dennis was there during the recruiting process. In addition, he and Bosco assistant (now head coach) Kevin Diverio would drive Palmer to Jersey City’s White Eagle Hall – a rite of basketball passage – competing with St. Anthony’s and other players in open gym. “Bottom line,” wrote Palmer, “if you have been involved in Jersey hoops at any level and haven’t com in contact with him (Dennis) over the last several decades, you’ve done yourself a tremendous disservice.”
• Truth of the matter, if you were in the Garden State game for an appreciable time it would have been nearly impossible to run into Dennis. And almost instantly become a friend.
  Former Paramus Catholic coach Al Roth said it best, “A class man who developed character not characters.”

Palmer and many others noted Dennis would help countless kids and teams (especially at the youth level) without looking for a penny remuneration in return.

One of the truly unique things was how Dennis had time for and treated all he came in contact with the same time and approach. Whether it was coach Mike Krzyzewski, John Calipari, Jim Boeheim or a local travel or CYO coach, Dennis was equally personable and helpful. In the same regard, he saw the bright lights of the Final Four and packed public arenas. Yet he was as home and enjoyed as much, a trip to OLM in Park Ridge or Saint Mary’s gym. The bounce of the ball on hardwood or asphalt was his siren call. He may have had interest in other sports, but basketball was his passion.

Losing someone close or someone you called a true friend is difficult. One who has touched your life and the lives of so many others compounds the hurt. The sadness in knowing that person is no longer with us. The other side is reflection, knowing how that person touched those lives and we can carry out their legacy by trying to do the same while cherishing the special memories.

Dennis has passed on. He will always be with us in loving memory of all that he did.