Austin Hatch concludes playing career, becomes student assistant

The most inspirational player in college basketball will trade his jersey for a suit.

Two-time plane crash survivor Austin Hatch will end his playing career and accept a position as a student assistant, Michigan coach John Beilein announced Monday morning. The school has obtained permission from the NCAA to continue to pay for Hatch’s education but not have his scholarship count against its limit.

“This is, and has been, a very difficult decision; one that we have been discussing with Austin over the last few months,” Beilein said in a statement released by the school.

“Over the past year, we closely observed Austin’s academic and athletic progress. In the end, Austin and our staff agree that the waiver is the proper next step. This change allows Austin to devote the necessary time he needs to be successful in his studies and obtain a Michigan degree. We also wanted to be sure we continued our commitment to Austin keeping his full scholarship in place for the next three years. This waiver allows for both.”

That Hatch managed to play basketball at Michigan at all is remarkable considering everything he endured before arriving in Ann Arbor.

In 2003, he and his dad walked away from a 2003 plane crash that killed his mother, 11-year-old sister and 5-year-old brother, In 2011, Hatch experienced a sickening case of déjà vu. His dad was flying the family to its Michigan summer house in June 2011 when the small, single-engine plane plummeted nose-first into a garage along a residential street north of Charlevoix Municipal Airport, killing Hatch’s father and stepmother and critically injuring him.

Hatch emerged from a medically induced coma eight weeks after the crash, but the recovery process has been long and arduous.

Physical therapy helped him regain his ability to walk, to catch and shoot a ball and eventually to play the sport he loves again, but the 6-foot-6 wing likely will never regain the athleticism and coordination he had when Michigan initially recruited him. Crossword puzzles and word searches helped Hatch regain the mental acuity needed to return to class, but staying focused in class and completing assignments are a greater challenge for him than they once were.

“As I have progressed through this first season, I know that I am not where I want to be, both academically and athletically,” Hatch said in a school-released statement. “My priority is academics and I feel that it is in my best interest to devote more time to my studies. This decision honors my father, and it is something that I know he would agree with and be proud of me for making.”

Hatch’s decision could be advantageous for Michigan from a basketball standpoint too because it frees up a second vacant scholarship. One of those is earmarked for German forward Moritz Wagner, who has committed to Michigan but has not formally signed. The other could go to five-star wing Jaylen Brown or fellow Rivals 150 prospect Kenny Williams should either commit to the Wolverines this spring.

Though Hatch won’t become the basketball star he once appeared destined to be, he still produced some incredible moments in his lone season as a Michigan player.

He made his Michigan debut during a summer tour of Italy. He scored his first point in a November exhibition game. One month later, he got in the box score again in a game that counted, drawing a foul on a top of the key 3-pointer and draining 1 of 3 free throws, earning pats on the back and high fives from his teammates and a standing ovation from the Crisler Arena crowd.

That will be the only point Hatch scores as a college basketball player, but he’s apparently come to terms with that.

“Basketball has always been a huge part of my life, however, it is what I play, not who I am,” Hatch said. “It was a goal of mine to return to the game that I love so much and I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to play for Michigan. After all that I have been through, it was a dream come true for me to put on a Michigan jersey and get into a game at Crisler Center.”

Video of Austin Hatch’s emotional free throw against Coppin State: