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Michigan basketball signee Austin Hatch takes question from the media during a news conference at the Loyola High School campus in Los Angeles on Nov. 20, 2013.

(AP Photo | Damian Dovarganes)

ANN ARBOR -- Austin Hatch originally committed to play basketball at Michigan on June 15, 2011. Back then he was a star at Fort Wayne Canterbury High School, averaging 23 points and nine rebounds as a sophomore.

He had spent time on Michigan's campus prior to committing, but because he was only a sophomore, never took an official visit to Ann Arbor.

Much has happened since then, but at long last, Hatch will take his official visit to Michigan "in the coming weeks," U-M coach John Beilein confirmed Wednesday.

Hatch, who signed a National Letter of Intent on Nov. 16, 2013 to join the U-M basketball program in 2014-15, is known nationally for surviving two plane crashes in his life, the most recent being a 2011 crash that killed his father and stepmother and left him in a medically induced coma.

That second crash came only one week after Hatch committed to Michigan in 2011. He spent approximately eight weeks in a coma following the crash, recovering from bruising on his brain and fractures to his ribs and collarbone.

In the years following, Hatch sat out his junior season at Canterbury after attempting to play in 2012-13, but being physically unable to do so. He then moved to Los Angeles to live with family members and enrolled at Loyola High School.

“I had to relearn how to walk and talk,” Hatch said of his recovery during a November 2013 press conference Loyola. “I had to relearn everything. It was like I was born again. I was set back several years with that injury.”

On Wednesday, Beilein said Hatch's circumstances, including his recovery and relocation, prevented him from ever taking the official visit to Michigan afforded to him by NCAA rules. Different than an unofficial visit, schools can cover the cost of a recruit's visit to campus for an official visit.

Hatch returned to the court for the first time in three years this past season at Loyola, including an emotional debut featuring a made 3-pointer on his first shot attempt. Beilein said he has watched film of other games in which Hatch appeared.

Hatch will be a member of the Michigan team next season, but is expected to primarily focus on continuing his recovery.

“It’s exciting as can be that he’s going to have this opportunity to play basketball -- organized basketball -- again,” Beilein said when Hatch signed his national letter of intent in November. “We’ll just have to see how that all develops. The big thing is that he has a scholarship to the University of Michigan. And I want to make sure he knows that. We want to make sure he knows that.”

In addition to the 2011 plane crash, Hatch also survived a 2003 crash that killed his mother and two siblings.

Brendan F. Quinn covers University of Michigan basketball and football. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on Wolverines hoops. He can be contacted at bquinn@mlive.com