The OU football commit was the center of attention over the weekend after he received two technicals fouls in the Tigers’ Friday night loss to Mount Saint Mary. The rules dictate that players must miss a game following two technicals, however the OSSAA rescinded the second tech. Giving Hackett a second chance. He took advantage of that second opportunity by dominating the contest and punching Fort Gibson’ ticket to state.

As always he was a major rim deterrent on the block. While being an unstoppable force on offense. Once he got deep position and the ball, it was often an automatic two points. Even if he had to clean up his own miss. Hackett likely would be a mid major quality basketball recruit. But his future is on Saturdays and possibly Sundays in the Fall. For now in a wide open Class 4A field, Fort Gibson had a chance to win it all because of the big fellow.

The Tigers were able to get revenge over the Indians on Monday night. This was the first loss of the season for Catoosa. Fort Gibson improved to 18-4 on the season with the win. Hackett dominated inside and one of the reasons why was the ability of his teammates to limit turnovers with post feeds inside. Hackett not only played with force as both a scorer and rebounder but also showed great touch when finishing over multiple defenders. Catoosa was forced to utilize a full court press to try to force turnovers and the Fort Gibson guards routinely broke the pressure to find Hackett ahead of everyone for dunks. Coming out of the halftime break, the junior score eight straight points to close the door on any potential comeback.

Fort Gibson added another signature win to their resume, by beating 5A Midwest City on Saturday night in McAlester. The future Oklahoma Sooner offensive lineman is one of the most dominant post presences in the state. In the semifinals and title game he combined for 51 points, 25 rebounds and eye popping 15 blocks. Last year the Tigers reached the State Tournament for the first time since 2017. But lost in the first round. Now with Hackett a year older and stronger in the post and quality guards around him, expect Fort Gibson to make a longer stay in OKC in March.

Hackett is the anchor for a squad that looks capable of making another Class 4A State Tournament run. As one of the premier football prospects in the nation, he’s starting to add muscle and power to his frame. Which makes him such an unique match up problem, especially in 4A. He’s a bruiser, with great quickness for his size. Add in his long wingspan and he can easily score over players of similar size. And swat shots. Football is his future, but his impact in basketball is as large as his frame.

Had watched a couple games of Hackett at Fort Gibson this past season and was intrigued as the youngster was still growing into his frame but clearly possessed big time athletic upside. Dunk fest highlight videos from early AAU tournaments this spring and turned intrigue into “need to see this kid in peron”. Seeing the hulking youngster in person, the upside is clear. Broad shoulder frame, long arms and great nimbleness for his size. He’s going to be a force in Oklahoma over these next few years, as there’s only a handful of players in this state at any time with his raw traits. It’s also looks likely that while he has college upside in basketball, his upside in football could be even higher.