UMHoops.com: Michigan basketball commit Austin Hatch still working on a comeback

Related story: Austin Hatch tells his story, says he intends to play at Michigan in 2013

Austin Hatch hasn't made it all the way back yet.

But that doesn't mean he's not trying.

Hatch, a 2013 Michigan basketball commit, did not play high school hoops last season at Fort Wayne (Ind.) Canterbury after being involved in a 2011 plane crash that took the lives of his father and stepmother.

Despite that, Hatch says he's back in school working on his grades and his game -- staying in contact with John Beilein and his staff throughout the entire process.

“They still feel just as good about me," Hatch told UMHoops.com this weekend at the Adidas Spring Classic AAU event in Indianapolis. "Not necessarily as a basketball player, but just from off-the-court stuff -- my schoolwork, the type of guy I am to them. So, the basketball stuff will come they say.

"It just takes time.”

Michigan basketball recruit Austin Hatch (30) did not play high school basketball last season after being involved in a plane crash that killed his father and stepmother.

Hatch's future as a basketball player remains uncertain, and some have speculated that he may reclassify to the class of 2014.

Since Hatch is not a signed prospect, Beilein and Michigan cannot discuss his status publicly, per NCAA rule.

The 6-foot-6 Hatch is currently part of Michigan's four-man recruiting class for 2013, joining four-star point guard Derrick Walton, four-star small forward Zak Irvin and three-star power forward Mark Donnal.

Hatch was released from Traverse City's Munson Medical Center in October, nearly four months after the June 2011 crash.

Earlier this month, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reported that inadequate airspeed and a failed approach by Hatch's late father, Dr. Stephen Hatch, were reasons for the crash itself.

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