June 19, 2016 May 25, 2017 March 5, 2018 A basketball game was played Sunday. Some guys shot baskets — some went in, others didn’t. The team wearing maize jerseys scored more points than the guys donning scarlet and left Crisler Center significantly more pleased. But for Austin Hatch and John Beilein, Sunday — Senior Day — was about so much more than basketball. Sunday was emblematic of the true meaning of sports, a foundation that supersedes a few baskets here and there, a few wins, a few championships. The story of Austin Hatch is a story about the impact sports can have in their purest form. And when Hatch walked on the court to a roaring ovation with his grandparents and fiance, former Michigan volleyball player Abby Cole, on his side, the impact was clear. After all that he’s been through, it was the end of one era for Hatch, and the start of a blindingly bright next. “Life’s good man,” Hatch told a group of reporters Friday afternoon. “It’s coming together.” By now, you probably know the story of Austin Hatch. It has been well-documented, and for good reason. It’s a story of remarkable tragedy, of unthinkable sadness. But Sunday was a reminder that it’s also a story of unparalleled perseverance. It’s a love story between a young man and a university, a player-coach relationship that reaches far beyond the bounds of basketball. When he was eight years old, Hatch was involved in a plane crash that killed his mother, brother and sister. Hatch, seated in the front passenger seat, survived alongside his father, who was piloting the plane. When he was a sophomore in Fort Wayne, Ind. Beilein offered Hatch — a promising scorer and knockdown shooter — a scholarship to play for the Wolverines. Eight days later, he was in another plane crash, this time killing his father and family dog. Hatch was left in a coma for eight weeks, having to regain the ability to walk and speak. Still, Beilein honored his scholarship offer, and Hatch enrolled his freshman year. “The ultimate measure of a coach — obviously a good coach wins basketball games, you can see the results that way and the impact he has on his team — but the impact he has on developing his players, these young men,” Hatch said. “I’ve definitely learned a lot, grown as a young man. I definitely will take the lessons I’ve learned from him with me the rest of my life, in my marriage, with my family and working. It’s a special bond, and it’s definitely not going to end in April.” Saturday, four years after first enrolling at Michigan, 15 years after the first plane crash, seven years after the second, Hatch was honored on Senior Day. He was announced with the starters, embracing each player as they lined up for introductions. As he approached freshman guard Jordan Poole, Poole gave him a hug. After he was honored at midcourt, the players mobbed him lovingly. Beilein told his players Hatch’s story before the game one more time. For freshmen like Poole, the details of Hatch’s experience were fresh. “Just told them, ‘I want you to put yourself as an eight-year-old,” Beilein said, fighting back tears. “I want you to put yourself as one of the best sixteen-year-olds in the country, and lose your mom and dad after you already lost your brother and your sister and your mom — you watched them basically die.’ ” Hatch finished his career with one point — a free throw he made in December 2014 against Coppin State. But the impact he had on his teammates can’t be measured. “I try not to think about it too much because it’s sad, everything he’s been through,” said senior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur- Rahkman. “How positive he is is truly inspiring. That’s all you can ask for.” In two months, Hatch will graduate with a degree in Organizational Studies. Soon after, he will get married to Cole. In July, he will be going to work full time in real estate acquisition at Domino’s. “It’s crazy,” Hatch said. “Life’s happening, you know?” And for Beilein, the day was a way to reflect. Reflect on where this relationship started. Reflect on where it’s come. Reflect on what Hatch means to him. Reflect on life. “I was ready to cry. Somehow, I choked it off, but I was ready to cry,” Beilein said on seeing Hatch walk out of the tunnel Sunday. “When the NCAA allowed me to go see him when he was finally out of the coma, and see — the last time I saw him he was one of the best sophomores in the country, without question. He reminded me of a young Wally Sczerbiak. He was tremendous. He’d just played a great team and dominated them. Now I see him and doesn’t weigh 210 now, now he weighs about 140. He can’t eat the sandwich because — he can hardly walk — he can move like six inches at a time when he walks. And when you see that and then you see this and his family and his fiance Abby, it makes your heart warm. “If we’ve been a small part of his life, he’s been a huge part of my life and this team’s life.” 2B — Monday, February 19, 2018 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SportsMonday An unconventional senior class T here are certain occasions that all athletes look for- ward to in their careers. Senior Day is near the top of the list. The celebra- tory affair — fit with framed jerseys, card- board cutouts and individual plaudits — represents the exclamation mark at the end of a long chapter. But in a sport known for its one- and-done culture, it can be a rare experience to be a senior in college basketball. Even for Michigan, a top-tier program that isn’t often associ- ated with lottery picks, only one of its past six first-round NBA Draft picks played a senior year as a Wol- verine. And if it weren’t for a string of injuries, now-Brooklyn Nets forward Caris LeVert likely would have left early as well. That’s why Michigan coach John Beilein makes sure that Senior Day is memorable for those who reach it. “What’s sad is they think this goes on forever, and I know that some of the guys I’ve seen only once since then and that’s it,” he said. “The rest of their lives, the next 80 years of their lives, you may only see them one time. So it’s really important that we embrace one of these last opportunities to play a home game.” More often than not, the play- ers that stay for four years aren’t the stars. They don’t come into the program as highly-touted recruits expected to make a flashy entrance and then a speedy exit. They are the players who work day in and day out to lay the building blocks for the foundation of the program. That is especially true of Beilein’s senior class this season, even if theirs are more unconven- tional stories. An underrated starter, a reliable sixth man, a graduate transfer and a living miracle made up the four- player contingent honored Sunday in front of a sold-out crowd at Crisler Center as No. 22 Michigan earned a 74-62 win over No. 8 Ohio State. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rah- kman, Duncan Robinson, Jaaron Simmons and Austin Hatch didn’t come in together four years ago, but they all have left their mark in Ann Arbor. In 2014-15, it was Hatch who made his mark. He had to reclas- sify after surviving a plane crash that took the lives of his father and stepmother and ultimately cut his playing career short. Once one of the best high school sophomores in the nation — having just received a scholarship offer from Beilein — he could only play in five collegiate games, but he served as a source of inspiration for the team. In 2015-16, it was Robinson, who became the first player in NCAA history to receive a scholarship after transferring from Division III to Division I. He became a regular starter as a redshirt sophomore and ranked second in the Big Ten and ninth in the nation as a 45-percent 3-point shooter. In 2016-17, it was Abdur- Rahkman, who turned his quiet beginnings as a two-star recruit into a starring role as a starter. He played a pivotal role in the Big Ten Tournament title run last March, averaging nine points and four rebounds per game in those four games, including a season-high 17 points in the first contest. In 2017-18, it has been Simmons, who joined the Wolverines for one final year after transferring from Ohio University. While he hasn’t become the regular contributor he was expected to be, he has pushed sophomore guard Zavier Simpson into becoming a well-rounded starter after the departure of now- Miami Heat guard Derrick Walton Jr. Each of the four, as players and as people, beat the odds and turned themselves into invaluable pieces of Michigan. In a season that had the potential to be a rebuilding year after the loss of five seniors and an NBA draft pick, these four have helped lead the Wolverines to an 11-5 Big Ten and 22-7 overall record. After knocking off the Buckeyes, there seems to be much left in store for Michigan this season. The same can’t be said for these seniors, whose playing careers are expected to end whenever the Wolverines’ season does. Though none of them are expected to make the jump to the next level, Beilein doesn’t see anything wrong with that. He used Abdur-Rahkman to illustrate his point. “You see this in college bas- ketball all the time. The guy who comes in and gets who he is and isn’t about, ‘Get me to the pros’ and all these things,” he said. “He’s just about, ‘Coach, make me better. I’m gonna give you everything I have every minute. I’m not gonna be a holler guy, but I still love the team and my teammates.’ ” He may have been directly referring to Abdur-Rahkman, but the description is apt for all four. Sunday, each of the seniors had his tip-of-the-cap moment. Hatch, who has served as a stu- dent assistant since taking a medi- cal scholarship in 2015, dressed for the game and warmed up with his teammates. Though he couldn’t play due to NCAA rule, Beilein pro- vided a nice touch by announcing him along with the starting five. Simmons pushed Michigan out to a nine-point lead — its largest of the game midway through the second half — finishing a fast-break layup to rousing applause. Abdur-Rahkman nailed a three- pointer with just three minutes remaining to open up a 65-53 lead, strutting backward with the look of a man who had sealed victory. Robinson finished it off with 1:16 left on the clock, drawing an offen- sive foul to top off his impressive defensive display against Ohio State forward Keita Bates-Diop, the Big Ten’s leading scorer. As the whistle blew, Robinson let out a roar toward the crowd. It had ‘game over’ written all over it. They already had their framed jerseys from the pregame ceremo- ny. They had just earned the rivalry win. But they had one last piece of business to attend to after the game. The four seniors — upon the beckoning of Beilein, who called them “four of the greatest young men we’ve ever had” — took the microphone to address the crowd. Hatch acknowledged that he “wouldn’t change anything about my four years here.” Simmons said “it’s been a great ride.” Robinson called it “one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life.” And Abdur-Rahkman considered him- self “lucky to wear Michigan across my chest.” The consistent message from all four was captured best by Abdur- Rahkman as he claimed that the Wolverines are “not done yet.” The declaration comes with a caveat, though, as whatever comes next for Michigan will happen away from Crisler Center. That’s why, when Beilein asked him to lead the arena in “The Victors,” Abdur-Rahkman asked if the team could sing it with the Maize Rage. So they walked into the student section and sang the fight song after the final home game of their Wol- verine careers. It was an unconventional move, to be sure. But with this senior class, it couldn’t have been any other way. Ashame can be reached at ashabete@umich.edu or on Twitter @betelhem_ashame. KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily The Michigan men’s basketball team honored its senior class at Sunday’s Senior Day before the Wolverines’ 74-62 win over No. 8 Ohio State. KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily Austin Hatch (left) recovered from injuries sustained in a 2011 plane crash to attend Michigan and join the basketball team and will graduate this spring. Austin Hatch among seniors honored in emotional day BETELHEM ASHAME MAX MARCOVITCH Daily Sports Editor “Somehow, I choked it off, but I was ready to cry.”