Syracuse Basketball: Top 30 Players in School History
By Josh Peelman
Hackett would have a bigger role as a junior when he teamed up with Dennis DuVal and Jimmy Lee. With those two playing at guard, that made Hackett the go-to option in the post. As such, he racked rebound after rebound on defense and would lead the team in that regard, according to Orangehoops.org.
Late in that season, he had one of the best shooting performances an Orange player has ever had. Against Holy Cross, Hackett shot 16 of 19 from the field for 35 points. In that same game, he also had 18 rebounds and seven assists. That season he would raise his averages to 16.8 points, and 11.7 rebounds.
His Senior year, he would co-captain with Jimmy Lee. Together they formed a nice 1-2 punch both inside and outside. Hackett would be the better scorer of the two averaging 22.2 points to go with 12.7 rebounds. In that final season, he would guide the Orange to their first Final Four before losing to Kentucky.
Hackett would be drafted after the season by the Utah Jazz but would opt to instead play for the Spirit of St. Louis in the ABA. He would have a better career overseas though in the Italian Professional League after a short stint in the ABA & NBA.
Hackett is probably the best rebounder SU would see until Derrick Coleman and Hakim Warrick came around years later. He currently sits 6th on Syracuse’s all-time rebounding list and 23rd on Syracuse’s all-time scoring list. That’s pretty good company to be in, which is exactly why Hackett is in our top 20.