Super 5 boys basketball 2021: Lenny Hatchett got himself, Del City over the hump
Hump Day #HumpDay
DEL CITY — One too many times, Lenny Hatchett has stood after the final game of the season holding a silver ball.
The trophy signifies a runner-up finish at the state tournament. Reaching the pinnacle of high school basketball but coming up just short.
At the time, it seems as if all of the work a coach and their team has put in for the duration of the season means nothing. The ultimate goal is to win a championship, so who cares about finishing second?
For Hatchett, those runner-up finishes provided fire.
Inside the bowels of Del City’s gymnasium sits Hatchett’s office. There’s a window on one wall that can see into the boys basketball locker room and vis versa. Instead of having an open window, Hatchett has plastered photos on both sides from the Eagles’ championship game in 2019, when they fell to Tulsa Memorial, which won its third straight title.
It’s something he and his players see every time they go in and out for practice and games. It was a reminder of where they’ve been, but it was also motivation for where they wanted to be.
In Hatchett’s office, a gold ball now sits below that window.
It’s safe to say the pictures from two years ago will likely be replaced soon.
Del City won its final 16 games of the year and captured the Class 6A state championship in March, topping No. 1 Edmond Memorial at Mabee Center in Tulsa. It was the Eagles first title since 1980.
Hatchett guided the Eagles to the title after moving up a classification, losing their two best players and throughout the unknown surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. For that, he’s The Oklahoman’s Super 5 Coach of the Year.
“I tried to use what was going on through the COVID and everything that we had experience last year to just make our coaches stronger,” Hatchett said. “We understood that nothing was guaranteed. I thought it was important that our kids bought in through the entire year.
“They understood we could have a game canceled the day before we played, and they still came to practice. I thought that was important and carried us through this 6A competition because it was brutal.”
Hatchett is the first coach to be selected Super 5 Coach of the Year in consecutive seasons.
Del City entered the 2020 Class 5A state tournament as a heavy favorite. With two strong senior guards leading the way, along with a cast of talented role players, the Eagles had dominated all season and were likely going to run away with the championship.
It was all for naught.
Two days before the state tournament was set to begin, Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell came to Del City’s gym for a private workout the day before his team was set to face the Oklahoma City Thunder. Hatchett was there along with a couple players.
The next day, Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus, and the NBA shut down. The next player who tested positive? Mitchell.
Doctors and specialists told Hatchett and his team they would be safe to continue playing and would be able to play their quarterfinal game against Tulsa Kelley at Skiatook that Thursday. Del City was on the bus when word came Thursday the state tournament had been postponed. Two weeks later, it was canceled.
Questions surrounded how safe it was for Del City to actually play. Concern came from the host site and opponents. With the larger sports world shutting down, the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association made the same choice.
All it did was add fuel to Hatchett’s fire.
The Eagles started slowly this year. The loss of two dynamic guards whose names are in the record books couldn’t be replaced overnight, especially with some sophomores with little varsity experience. Keyondre Young, a senior forward who earned Super 5 Player of the Year honors, was adjusting to his new leadership role.
In early January, Del City was 6-4 and lost consecutive games to end the McGuinness Classic. The team looked discombobulated on the court, but its attitude and leadership from Hatchett, his assistants and players never wavered.
The Eagles won their next three games before dominating at the Titan Classic tournament. With each game, Young became more of a star. He was nearly unstoppable. The younger players also found their groove, and Del City was clicking.
Offensively, Young handled the scoring load but opened up others for easy buckets. Defensively, no team was fiercer. The Eagles’ length and athleticism was that of a small college team, let alone a high school squad.
Senior guard Javeon McCalister hit a floater with 21.5 seconds left to give Del City the lead for good in the championship game. When the clock hit zero, the celebration began.
For Hatchett, it was the ultimate culmination of his previous runner-up finishes and the craziness of last season, but things often have a way of working out the way they’re supposed to.
“I’ve been to a lot of state tournaments,” Hatchett said. “17 years as a head coach, 23 years overall. It just goes to show that you have to have patience. You’ve got to continue working. You can’t stop. As close as we have been, I was just extremely overwhelmed with emotions and pride with what Del City was able to accomplish.
“It’s a life-changing accomplishment for these young men. That’s the most important thing for me. It’s going to change their lives.”
Reporter Cameron Jourdan covers high school sports across the Oklahoma City metro and state. Have a story idea for Cameron? He can be reached at cjourdan@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @Cam_Jourdan. Support Cameron’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Super 5 boys basketball 2021: Lenny Hatchett got himself, Del City over the hump