The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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2014 BASKETBALL RECRUITING ISSUE munity not just because of his suc- cess, but also for his giving soul. He did the little things that meant a lot, Michigan assistant coach Bacari Alexander said. "When they came up for the visit, we all went to Amir's Deli," Alexan- der recalled. "We got done enjoying some sandwiches, and we said, 'It's a nice day — let's grab a dessert.' He said, 'You guys brought all these kids in and did all this — I'm buying the ice cream today.'" He ordered Alexander a double scoop. "That's the type of giving sprit Dr. Hatch had in his profession, too," Al- exander said. "He touched many lives of people in Northwest Indiana." On another trip for a football game weekend, U-M assistant coach La- Vall Jordan recalled, Dr. Hatch left the seats just before halftime and re- turned with his arms full. "I think it was the opening game, so there were festivities around the day and a number of kids and their families there, but he bought pizza, drinks, nachos and everything back for everybody," he recalled. "That was the man's heart and generosity. He was a special guy." He was also a man who wanted his son at Michigan, Fort Wayne (Ind.) Canterbury head coach Dan Kline said shortly after Hatch pledged in June 2011. Kline coached Hatch for three years, including a junior season in which he averaged 24 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game in lead- ing Canterbury to its best season in school history. Canterbury escaped the sectionals and made the region- als for the first time and posted big upsets along the way behind Hatch's outstanding play. One of the biggest came in a win over Fort Wayne (Ind.) Bishop Luers, a program boasting three Division I basketball talents and five Division I football players. Hatch put up 30 points and 18 rebounds in front of Michigan head coach John Beilein, saving his best for the big stage. The days of big scoring numbers might be gone — Hatch played very limited minutes for Loyola this year, though he did hit a three pointer at the end of one game that brought the house down — but nobody's willing to write him off. He'll contribute to the program in some way, and he enters on a full athletic scholarship. Basketball was the last thing on the 6-6, Rivals.com three-star prospect's mind, though, when he was going through his recovery period. How- ever, he's spent plenty of time on the Hatch on his father Stephen, who died in the 2011 plane crash that also injured Austin "He taught me everything — the work necessary to succeed, faith, determination and courage in the midst of hardship. Those traits I acquired from him are what saved my life."