This CT coach, who died Thursday at age 47, impacted ‘thousands’ of kids in Hartford

Former Weaver High boys basketball coach Reggie Hatchett, who led his high school team to three straight state championship games and won one title, died Thursday at age 47 in Georgia due to complications from diabetes and chronic heart failure.

Hatchett, who had graduated from Weaver in 1997, coached the high school team for seven years, had a 121-51 record and went to three state finals from 2014-16, winning the Class M title in 2015.

Hatchett worked at Weaver but also had been the director of sports, fitness and recreation at the Boys & Girls Club of Hartford. He also coached AAU and youth teams in Hartford and impacted “thousands” of kids, current Weaver boys basketball coach Shawn Bell said.

“I haven’t even posted anything yet (on social media) because I don’t know what to say,” Bell said.

Derrick Butter Small, who was Hatchett’s assistant coach through the championship run with Weaver, said Hatchett’s passing hit hard.

“He was really big in the community,” Small said. “He knew mostly everybody and everybody knew him. He brought a little bit of the pride back that we had in the early ’90s back in my day (at Weaver).”

Hatchett moved to Georgia five years ago with his fiancée, Keisha Smith, and their two boys Benjamin and Azir, who both play basketball.

“Post-COVID, our family decided we wanted to bring our boys together for basketball and sports and we thought it would be good to have the family all together in Georgia because it presented some different opportunities for them for basketball,” said Candace Smith, Keisha’s sister. “He took a big leap with Keisha and the boys, leaving Hartford, where he had poured in so much and spent so much time making a name there and really impacting the lives of those kids around there.”

Their sons are now 12 and 14.

“The boys have said that’s probably the most comforting thing for them right now is everybody’s telling stories about their dad, as a coach, things he did,” Candace Smith said. “Lots of people have been reaching out to Keisha and the boys. The outpouring of support has been overwhelming.”

Hatchett took over the Weaver head coaching job in 2014. The year before, the Beavers went to the Class S final and lost to Granby, 83-81, in double overtime. In 2014, they lost to East Catholic, 87-60, in the Class M state championship and the next year, Weaver won its first state title since 2007, beating Notre Dame-Fairfield, 73-59, in the Class M championship for the school’s eight overall title.

“We’ve restored some of that pride,” Hatchett said after Weaver won the 2015 championship game. “We can bring back that storied tradition by chipping away at some of the negativity all around. Jaecee and Chalyn Martin are members of the National Honor Society. KeAndre (Fair) is in the Honor Society. Andre (Lyons) probably is going to be next year. These guys aren’t thugs and gangsters. These guys focused on being the best student athletes they can be.”

In 2016, Hatchett moved his team up to Class LL, where the Beavers lost to Hillhouse, 94-83, in double overtime in the championship game in which four of their starters fouled out. Fair, one of Weaver’s stars, scored 24 points and got his 2,000th career point in the game.

Eric Crawford’s son, E.J., who plays professionally in Puerto Rico, was coached by Hatchett when he was younger in the summer.

“He was a North End legend in basketball,” said Crawford, who played at the University of Hartford and is director of the CREC Family Resource Center. “Especially in AAU, he had all the kids from Weaver and the North End. He was into it big time but his thing wasn’t just basketball, he was trying to keep these kids off the streets.

“Everybody knew him. Reg was a guy who stood on all 10 toes when it came to kids and AAU, how kids are treated in high school – all that.”

A GoFundMe has been set up to cover funeral expenses and to help Hatchett’s family and boys. As of Friday afternoon, it had raised over $8,500.