If you don’t know the story of Michigan senior Austin Hatch, you should.
He’s survived two plane crashes in his life. The first, in 2003, robbed him of his mother, 11-year old sister and five-year old brother. In 2011, to celebrate his commitment to the Wolverines, Hatch’s father flew them up to the family’s vacation home, but the plane crashed into a garage killing Hatch’s dad and his stepmom and leaving Austin critically injured.
He had a severe brain trauma, a punctured lung, broken ribs and a broken collarbone, and in order to manage the swelling in his brain, he was put into a medically-induced coma for eight months.
He managed to return and even played for the Wolverines during the 2014-15 season, but he eventually made the decision to retire from basketball at the end of the year. He did, however, remain a part of the program and on Sunday, during Michigan’s Senior Day, he warmed up with the team and was introduced to the crowd as a starter and no, I’m not crying, YOU’RE crying:
Senior day at Michigan pic.twitter.com/QRMWoeRnts
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) February 18, 2018
Our man @AustinHatch30 taking in warmups on Senior Day!! #GoBlue #Family pic.twitter.com/pF7S18i1NU
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) February 18, 2018