WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Hartford High athletic director Jeff Moreno has wanted to stage a basketball tournament in honor of Robert “Stretch” Gillam for a long time.

The idea dates back to Moreno’s time at the former South Royalton School — and before Gillam died in 2017. Moreno wanted to commemorate Gillam’s coaching legacy and give him a chance to feel admiration and appreciation from the schools he impacted.

Though Gillam can’t witness that event, his family will.

The Hurricanes are hosting the Stretch Gillam Kickoff Classic this weekend, containing the four Vermont schools where Gillam coached: Hartford, Oxbow, Green Mountain and White River Valley. (Gillam coached at South Royalton before it became WRV.) Oxbow is playing White River Valley at 5 p.m. Friday, and Hartford will face Green Mountain at 7. The losers of those games will play Saturday at 5, and the winners will meet at 7.

Moreno said it’s cool to have all four schools involved in this tournament.

“I think it’s a really neat thing,” Moreno said. “I know his legacy lives on all in all four places. And it’s something he’d be really, really proud of and really excited to know that it was taking place.”

Only players’ family members will be allowed to attend the tournament because of COVID-19 protocols. Any admission money collected will be donated to the Vermont Basketball Coaches Association’s Stretch Gillam Scholarship Fund, which is annually given to a Vermont basketball student-athlete who displays passion for the game and good sportsmanship.

Though Moreno tried to make this type of event happen on several occasions, it never worked out for various reasons. He said the key to pulling it off now was ensuring the schools reserved two games in their schedule. He’s glad it was finally able to come together, and he’s hoping to make this an annual event.

Moreno is looking forward to honoring someone who meant a lot to him.

“I love the man. He did a lot for me personally,” Moreno said. “He just was a really good member of the community. (He) took care of people. His love for basketball was only eclipsed by his love for his family — which includes everyone that ever played for him or ever coached with him. He just always made you feel so loved, so connected.”

That affection will be felt on all sidelines.

White River Valley head coach Mike Gaudette and Oxbow head coach Justin Smith both played for Gillam — Gaudette at Hartford and Smith with the Olympians. Gaudette also later coached at Hartford from 2006-10.

Gaudette said his team is eager to take the court at Hartford. This will be meaningful for him as well.

“I’m very excited to be coming home where I live and get to play and coach where I used to be,” Gaudette said. “(Gillam) did a lot for people, and I think that went unnoticed a lot. With coaching, there’s a lot of things you do behind the doors that people don’t realize, and I don’t know if people really realized all the stuff he did for us to make our basketball program better at Hartford High School.”

Smith has talked about Gillam with his team every day since the season began. He recalled regular team meals when he played for Gillam, so he orchestrated a team dinner on Thursday before the tournament. He wanted his players to understand the impact Gillam had and know why this tournament will be so special for him.

“It means a lot to me,” Smith said. “He’s one of the reasons I got into coaching. Right out of high school, I was 19 — last minute, decided not to go to college. And he insisted that I come up and be a part of his program. He thought I’d be perfect for it. And here I am in season 17, still following his footsteps.”

Though honoring Gillam is a central part of this event, Moreno said the games will be the main attraction.

He, as well as Smith and Gaudette, are hopeful that the tournament play will live up to the coach they’re honoring.

“It’s going to be so much fun. The basketball is going to be crazy,” Moreno said. “It’s going to be the first kind of real basketball in front of a somewhat packed gym, with some schools that haven’t played each other in a while. It’s really lined up to be a pretty awesome way to kick off the season, which is what we were hoping for.”

Seth Tow can be reached at stow@vnews.com.

Correction

Justin Smith is head boys basketball  coach at Oxbow High School. An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect last name.