"Trying to be more than a cool story."
T
hose are the words Michigan
freshman Austin Hatch chose to
write under his name on his Twitter
page when he arrived in Ann Arbor
as a survivor of two plane crashes
that took the lives of first his mother
and two siblings in 2003, and then
his father and stepmother eight years
later.
The crash also left him severely
debilitated with a crippling brain in-
jury, one doctors feared might pre-
vent him from ever walking or talk-
ing again, if he survived at all.
On Feb. 8, however, ESPN's fea-
ture "Miraculous: The Austin Hatch
Story" told the heartbreaking but in-
spiring story of Hatch's remarkable
recovery, his journey to play basket-
ball for head coach John Beilein and
his unfinished business to be a con-
tributor on the court.
"It's unbelievable to be here after
MICHIGAN BASKETBALL
Austin Hatch Featured On ESPN
Hatch, who has survived two plane accidents, is a freshman this season on the U-M men's
basketball team.
PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN
