LOS ANGELES — Overcome it.
It’s a simple phrase and one that every sports team worldwide could use as a rallying cry.
Athletics is the ultimate endurance test. Adversity is always lurking and how one responds often reveals what the end result will be.
For Michigan’s Austin Hatch, overcome it, which is stitched in maize and blue on the back of his shirt, carries an entirely different meaning.
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The story’s been told countless times. Hatch, who starred as a freshman and sophomore at Canterbury School in Fort Wayne, has survived two plane crashes. The first in 2003 claimed the lives of his mother, Julie; brother, Ian; and sister, Lindsay. Hatch lost his father, Stephen, and stepmother, Kimberly in the second crash — and nearly his own life.
Just nine days after Hatch committed to Michigan in June, 2011 — his dream school and the alma mater of his late mother — the crash left him in a coma with numerous broken bones and a traumatic brain injury. He wouldn’t wake up for eight weeks, and prospects of a normal life were not good. But Hatch was not only determined to return to normalcy, he wanted to continue a celebrated basketball career.
Fast forward seven years and Hatch is returning to Los Angeles, where he moved following the second accident and authored a tale of unimaginable valor.
“It’s one of the greatest stories I think that I’ve ever been associated with and am pleased to be a part of,” Michigan coach John Beilein said.
Hatch started all 21 games during his freshman season of high school basketball, averaging 18 points and seven rebounds. As a sophomore, he averaged 23.3 points and 9.3 rebounds to become a coveted recruit.
It took two years of intense rehabilitation for Hatch to re-learn how to walk, eat, and even breathe. He moved to Southern California to live with his uncle, Michael Hatch, where Austin worked with Rasheed Hazzard, who’s now an assistant coach for the New York Knicks.
The arduous journey back to the basketball court culminated in January, 2014, when Hatch entered late in an 87-59 Loyola High School victory. The highlight of the evening wasn’t just that he played — Hatch made a 3-pointer in his first shot attempt in nearly three years.
“Austin’s positivity, his faith, and always trying to get better is something I always admired,” Loyola coach Jamal Adams said. “He was steadfast in improving. He had his moments of difficulty and frustration, and those moments would be awfully emotional. But he would come back and lift his head up.”
Michael Hatch, Adams, and a host of other family and friends will be at Michigan’s Sweet 16 game Thursday against Texas A&M. They’ll return Saturday if Michigan is victorious. Adams remains an influential figure for Austin.
“He’s a great man and will be a great friend for life,” Hatch said. “I’m really appreciative of everything Loyola did for me, especially given the unique circumstances. I’m very blessed to have been part of such a great community there.”
His name will not appear in the box score, as Hatch had to give up his basketball career and now serves as an undergraduate student assistant coach for the team. But statistics are irrelevant to Hatch’s teammates. He provides an amount of leadership and enriching spirit that cannot be quantified.
“It’s great to have him around. He’s such an inspiration to us,” senior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman said. “He tries to uplift us. We’re really glad he’s on our team.”
Hatch carried his usual smile inside Michigan’s Staples Center locker room Wednesday, just 1.9 miles from Loyola High School. The surroundings were both familiar and comfortable.
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“It’s cool to get to be here and get to represent Michigan,” Hatch said. “It’s really special, very nice of coach Beilein to include me in this opportunity to travel with the team on this NCAA tournament run my senior year. It’s great to be with my guys for the last time around. Hopefully we’re playing into April.”
Despite the severity of Hatch’s injuries, Beilein never wavered, sticking by Hatch’s side during the recovery and never considering to yank his scholarship offer. Hatch appeared in five games during his freshman season at Michigan, scoring one point. Before his sophomore season, he went on a medical scholarship.
“I’ve moved on,” Hatch said. “Obviously I miss the game. I still love being around it. I wish I could play, but I can't. I’m at the point now where it is what it is. My career just ended a little early. It was going to bed at some point.”
On senior day in February, he received a rousing ovation from the Crisler Center crowd. He dressed for the game against Ohio State and went through warmups one final time. Hatch wears a suit and tie for NCAA tournament games, but he is traveling with the team and sitting on the bench.
“It makes your heart warm,” Beilein said. “If we’ve been a small part of his life, it’s tremendous. He’s been a huge part of my life and this team’s life.”
In April, Hatch will graduate with a degree in organizational studies and work full-time in the franchise development department at Domino’s Pizza’s corporate offices in Ann Arbor. Hatch and fiancee Abby Cole, a former Michigan volleyball player, will be married in June.
For 40 years, Beilein’s been involved in college basketball. The bond he and his wife, Kathleen, established with Hatch is unique and unlike any other family relationship he’s had. To this day, when Beilein discusses Hatch’s meaning to the Michigan basketball program, he gets emotional.
“I don’t think it’s an accident that I ended up at a place like Michigan,” Hatch said. “There’s no better man that I could play for and have an opportunity to learn from. He really taught me more about life. Obviously, a good coach wins basketball games, and you can see the results that way and the impact he has on his team. But the impact he has on developing his players as young men, I definitely have learned a lot and have grown as a man. I’ll take lessons I learned from him with me the rest of my life.”
Contact Kyle Rowland at krowland@theblade.com, 419-724-6110 or on Twitter @KyleRowland.
First Published March 21, 2018, 11:11 p.m.
