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Michigan freshman Austin Hatch speaks with reporters following a practice at the Player Development Center on Wednesday, August 13, 2014.

(Melanie Maxwell | The Ann Arbor News)

ANN ARBOR -- Sunday marked 1,129 days -- a little over three years -- since Austin Hatch committed to Michigan.

Back then, Hatch was heading into his junior year of high school. He choose U-M over recruiting interest from Notre Dame and Virginia after averaging 23 points and nine rebounds per game as a sophomore at Canterbury High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Hatch accepted coach John Beilein's scholarship offer the same day it was extended, telling a local news station, "They showed a lot of interest in me and liked what I had to offer. They offered me a scholarship today, so I couldn't turn it down."

The well-documented road from Jun 15, 2011 to the present day has ben paved with unimaginable obstacles. Nine days after committing to Michigan, Hatch was in a plane crash near Charlevoix, Michigan that killed his father, his stepmother, and left him in a medically induced coma. It was the second such incident of his young life. When he was 8, Hatch and his father, Dr. Stephen Hatch, survived a plane crash that claimed his mother, older sister, and younger brother.

That was Sunday's implausible preface.

Wearing a blue Michigan uniform, Hatch sat on the sideline at the Stella Azzurra Arena in Rome, Italy. On the court, the Wolverines were romping along to what would be a 99-60 victory over the Perugia Select Team.

Then, in the waning moments of the game, Beilein called for Hatch.

"It's something he has worked very hard for," Beilein later said.

Hatch, a 6-foot-6 guard, played each of the last three minutes of Sunday's win. He didn't score, shoot or grab a rebound. He didn't notch an assist or steal a pass.

But he played. The same 16-year-old who couldn't walk or talk when he awoke from his coma in 2011, stepped on the court as a 19-year-old to a standing ovation from a group of Michigan supporters.

Included among them was a grandfather, Jim.

"As you can imagine it has been a heck of a journey to get here," Hatch said. "Playing basketball at the University of Michigan has been my goal since I was a little kid. It was unreal to be here and to have actually played a game.

"I really feel like I have that game under my belt now and I really feel like a Michigan basketball player."

For Hatch, Sunday marked another milestone in a life filled with them. He'll have three more opportunities to play during U-M's four-game exhibition tour through Italy. The next game is slated for Tuesday in Vicenza, a city just west of Venice.

Somewhere down the line, Hatch will play his first game official college game. More ovations will be given. More stories will be written.

From all accounts, though, Sunday will always hold a special place. Following the win, Beilein asked Hatch to lead his teammates in the singing of "The Victors."

"It was unreal," he said. "To lead the team in the fight song after the game is a big tradition. I learned that early on in the recruiting process and watched U-M sing it a lot on my visits. I always thought to myself, 'I hope someday I am in position to be able to do that.' Just like everything else that happened today, it was just unreal to be able to do that."

Those unreal moments are becoming common place, like when Hatch appeared in a game for the first time in three years last season at Loyola High School in California, and promptly drilled a 3-pointer.

His coaches and teammates charged the floor when he made that shot, earning themselves a technical foul.

Hatch didn't score Sunday. That next moment will have to wait. According to Hatch, he's not about to force anything.

"I am not going to take a shot if it is not the right point in the game," he said. "For example if I have an open 3 and I have a teammate who is open under the basket, you better believe I am going to be passing it to him.

"Yeah, it would be cool if I made a 3. It would be a good story, but I am about my team and my teammates."

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