Versatile Hatcher leads streaking Gloucester
Jaleel Hatcher spent some of his summer with the Gloucester football team.
Jaleel Hatcher spent some of his summer with the Gloucester football team.
"I didn't play," Hatcher said. "I just wanted to work out with them. I wanted to get more physical."
There is still lots of finesse to Hatcher's game on the basketball court. He can handle, create space, score with either hand around the rim.
Hatcher was averaging 20.6 points through Wednesday for a team that had won 13 of its last 15 games. He was nearing 1,000 career points in just his second season with the Lions.
But the 6-foot-1 Hatcher, who transferred to Gloucester before the 2014-15 school year after two years at Camden, takes pride in his versatility.
He's much more than a scorer, according to Lions coach Liam James. Hatcher also is the team's leading rebounder as well as a top shot blocker, and his ability to battle in the paint complements his silky work on the perimeter.
"He's so strong," James said of Hatcher. "He's just so dynamic in so many facets of the game."
Hatcher has fueled Gloucester's resurgence since the new year. The Lions were 2-3 after a double-overtime loss to Audubon in the championship game of a holiday tournament but have been a different team in 2016.
Hatcher has led the way with help from senior forward Roy Bond and junior guard Jake Petrick, among others. Hatcher kick-started an 11-game winning streak with 31 points against Salem and scored 18 of his 21 in the second half of a big win before a packed house at rival Gloucester Catholic.
Hatcher went for 37 points - shooting 14 for 16 from the field, with 14 rebounds and four blocks - in a rematch victory against Salem and generated 35 points with 13 rebounds and three blocks in a loss to Clayton.
"I feel like I'm playing 10 times better than I did last year," said Hatcher, who has scored 952 of his 961 career points for Gloucester. "I worked hard in the offseason, worked on my left hand, seeing the court better.
"I try to do as much as I can to help the team. In basketball, you can't just be good at one thing. I try to be good at everything."
Hatcher said he remains in contact with former Camden teammates such as seniors Brad Hawkins and Jamal Holloway and follows the fortunes of South Jersey's most fabled program.
"We talk all the time," Hatcher said. "They're my family, too."
But Hatcher said he's found a home at Gloucester.
"It seems like I've been here a lot longer than two years," Hatcher said. "I love this school. They treat me like family."
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