Austin Hatch: One in 11 Quadrillion, 560 Trillion
4/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Austin Hatch of the University of Michigan men's basketball team will travel to Indianapolis on Easter Sunday, and on Monday (April 6) he will receive the U.S. Basketball Writers Association's Most Courageous Award for 2015 at an annual Final Four awards luncheon.
When MGoBlue.com's Steve Kornacki talked with Hatch on Thursday (April 2), Hatch wasn't so sure what he'd done was all that courageous.
"I've been given a third chance at life," said Hatch. "Coming so close to dying twice, and I'm still here. Third chance, and so I've got to make the most of it."
Hatch, a freshman guard at Michigan, survived two plane crashes in the span of eight years. In 2003, he lost his mother, Julie, younger brother Ian and older sister Lindsay in a crash near their home in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 2011, nine days after making his commitment to the Wolverines, the plane his father, Stephen, was piloting crashed again in Charlevoix, Michigan. His father died along with his stepmother, Kim, whom he'd come to cherish as "my second mom."
Only Austin lived through the two tragedies that claimed five family members. But he almost didn't make it. Austin suffered brain trauma, fractured ribs and a broken collarbone. And after coming out of a two-month-long coma, Hatch had to learn all over again how to talk and walk. Doctors feared he might be confined to a bed for the rest of his life.
"You say that people don't know where I've been -- nor do I expect them to," said Hatch. "The number of people who have been through what I've been through is a very small number. In fact I read in Dana O'Neil's (ESPN.com) article that according to an MIT statistician, Arnold Barnett, one of every 3.4 million people in the world will be involved in a plane crash that includes at least one fatality.
"And they haven't calculated the possibility that somebody survives two. So, I did the math and if one in 3.4 million survive one and one in 3.4 million survive another, that's one in 11 quadrillion, 560 trillion. So, that gives you an idea."
One quadrillion has 15 zeroes behind it.
"But I'm sure there's somebody somewhere," Hatch said, shaking his head. "But all I care about is that God had his hand on me. I think I'm here for a reason. I'm not sure why I'm here. But the fact of the matter is I've been given a third chance at life. So, I want to make the most of it."
-- Austin Hatch
Hatch will receive the "Most Courageous Award" close to his boyhood home of Fort Wayne, which is about a one-hour drive away. What will that mean to him?
"It will mean a lot," said Hatch, "but it's just an award. Awards are great and I'm not belittling the award and what it means. But it's certainly not anything that I'll let get to my head and make a bigger deal than it is."
His grandfather, Jim Hatch, his sisters from the blended family formed by parents Stephen and Kim, and "close family friends" will attend the award ceremony.
Hatch arrived in Ann Arbor June 20, and proceeded to win over teammates, coaches and everyone he came in contact with. He connects with his easy-going manner, loyal nature and straight-forward approach.
"My favorite part of the year was beating Ohio State here," said Hatch, "and hitting the free throw and everything -- that was cool."
He made a free throw on Dec. 22 against Coppin State at the end of a 72-56 win at Crisler Center that set off a celebration.
"That's my start," he said, "and not anything to be too proud of. Although, I guess, given my circumstances, and what I've been through, it was a pretty special moment for me and a lot of people. It's something to build on, for sure.
"I went from a guy who was running and dunking and scoring 35 points on people. And then I had to re-learn how to walk. So, it gives a little perspective on my road to recovery."
Wolverine coach John Beilein was there every step of the way. He made it clear the scholarship awaited once Hatch was ready, and Hatch worked with physical therapists upon release from the hospital while living with his sister, Maria, in Fort Wayne for about two years.
Then he moved to Pasadena, California, to live with his uncle, Michael, and attended Loyola High, a Catholic school in Los Angeles, in 2013. He worked with Rasheed Hazzard, now a New York Knicks assistant coach, on getting back his game. On Jan. 8, 2014, Hatch got into his first game 31 months after the plane crash. He swished a three-pointer against Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and pandemonium swept through the gym. The shot and scene were captured on video by a student manager.
"The whole place went nuts and it was on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10," said Hatch. "People said, 'He's back!' But, you know, I made a few of those in my day. But what's going to be symbolic and be significant is how successful I am in life by using the abilities I've been blessed with to contribute to making the world a better place."
After his final year of high school, Hatch was ready to give things a shot at Michigan, where he played in five of 32 games, and began studying with the hopes of someday owning his own business.
The Wolverines get plenty of one-on-one coaching during practices, and Hatch spent much of his time with assistant coach LaVall Jordan.
"I lost a lot of skills as a result of my brain injury," said Hatch. "And Coach Jordan and I really connect. We established a close relationship, and he knows how bad I want to be good again. Basketball gives me something to work for, and it gives me a goal. It's important in life to be willing to work for things. Whether or not I get my basketball game back, at the end of the day that's all secondary to becoming an excellent student and being successful in that way."
He hasn't declared a major but is leaning toward "business-related" courses.
"Hopefully, 20 years from now," said Hatch, now 21, "I'd like to be running a business. That's the dream. I want to have a job where I'm managing people, and having a relationship. I don't want to sit behind a computer all day and plug numbers on an Excel spreadsheet -- not that there's anything wrong with that."
He doesn't know how much he can regain of his basketball skills -- Hatch averaged 23.3 points and 9.3 rebounds while making 64 percent of field goal attempts and 45 percent of his three-pointers as a sophomore at Fort Wayne Canterbury -- but he does know what can be obtained academically.
And he thanks Beilein for the opportunity to chase both his hoop dreams and life goals.
"He's like a father figure to me," Hatch said of Beilein. "I've lost that, and he's a lot like my father in terms of the quality man he is and how solid he is in character, goals and integrity. He's a family man who genuinely cares about people. So, it's really been a blessing for me to be involved in a program that's led by a man like him.
"Not only is he a father figure to me and all my brothers. And by 'my brothers,' I'm referring to my teammates. He does everything the right way -- he doesn't ever sacrifice honesty or integrity. The man is truly one of a kind."
That comment made Hatch think of his own father, a doctor who always made time for him and loved family deeply, and a question he was asked about his father in an ESPN feature that aired Feb. 8.
"Chris Connelly asked me, 'Were you ever angry at your father?' I said, 'Never, never. My father was the man of the millennium.' In terms of how genuinely caring and solid as Coach Beilein is, Coach Beilein's right there with him. I've been very blessed to have such great men in my life.
"They say, 'It must be so hard losing your dad and mom, brother and sister.' It obviously is, but it's different when you have such beautiful memories of all of them. And my dad was one of the most amazing men who ever walked the planet as far as I'm concerned. And, although he's gone, he's still having a profound impact on me, and the man I am, and the man I hope to be someday.
"I think he sort of communicates with me telepathically pretty regularly. It sounds kind of weird and crazy. But it's powerful. Obviously, they're physically gone -- my mom, dad, brother and sister. But they'll forever be in my heart."
Hatch said he is "a professing Christian" raised as a Catholic.
"But it doesn't matter to me what a person believes just so long as their values and their character and their views are to be good to people," said Hatch.
The "father" he found in Beilein coaches the 14 "brothers" he's come to know as more than teammates.
"Originally, I was part of the 2013 recruiting class," said Hatch. "So, I'm in the class with Derrick Walton (Jr.), Mark Donnal, Sean Lonergan and Andrew Dakich. Those are my guys. I'm really close to Spike (Albrecht), real close to Caris (LeVert), close with Ricky Doyle as roommates, close with Aubrey (Dawkins), Kam (Chatman), Muhammad(-Ali Abdur-Rahkman), D.J. (Wilson). The list goes on."
When he gets away from basketball and school work, Hatch likes nothing better than to play 18 holes of golf or read a good book.
"I joke with Coach Beilein that 'the real season is coming,' " said Hatch, "and by that I mean golf. I love to golf. I also really enjoy reading. 'Outliers' by Malcolm Gladwell is one of my favorites. And I like 'Toughness' by Jay Bilas (a former Duke and NBA player now commentating on ESPN)."
"Outliers" is subtitled "The Story of Success," and on www.gladwell.com the book is capsulized thusly:
"There is a story that is usually told about extremely successful people, a story that focuses on intelligence and ambition. Gladwell argues that the true story of success is very different, and that if we want to understand how some people thrive, we should spend more time looking around them-at such things as their family, their birthplace, or even their birth date."
It's no wonder Hatch relates so well to "Outliers," having been the product of the family he lost, family he gained, and the coaches and players at Michigan.
He's often told that his own life story would make for quite a book.
"Let's say, hypothetically, the book is going to be 10 chapters," said Hatch. "We're probably about two or three chapters in so far. So, I've still got seven or eight chapters to go. Why write the book now, when you're just scratching the surface?
"I've got too far to go and too much left to accomplish. Someday (I'll write one), but not yet. Obviously, I'm excited for the future -- whether it's as a collegiate athlete at Michigan or career-wise."
And there's a ready title: "One in 11 Quadrillion, 560 trillion."
It's a title that goes beyond surviving, though. It's about thriving with an undeniable spirit.
"The path of least resistance is usually not the right path," said Hatch. "I could've given in and taken what's happened to me and not done much about it. But I made the decision to take the path less traveled and work hard to overcome all my injuries."
And for that he is being honored Monday in Indianapolis as the "Most Courageous" college basketball player. He appreciates being recognized, but says he's only doing what he knows he should.
