Mick Unplugged - Austin Hatch: From Tragedy to Triumph with Grit, Faith, and an Unstoppable Purpose

Episode Date: May 15, 2025

Austin Hatch is the embodiment of resilience and relentless growth. Surviving not one, but two tragic plane crashes that claimed the lives of his immediate family members, Austin defied the odds and went on to earn a Division 1 basketball scholarship at the University of Michigan. Guided by unwavering faith, a steadfast commitment to his family, and a mindset forged in adversity, Austin now shares his journey and his "GRIT" framework as a sought-after motivational speaker. Honoring those he lost, Austin is dedicated to helping others thrive in the face of adversity and to leaving people and places better than he found them.  Takeaways: Purpose is Everything: Austin emphasizes the importance of having a “because” that’s bigger than yourself—his family is his deeper purpose and what keeps him moving forward even during life’s toughest moments. GRIT is a Daily Discipline: Success over the long term is built on daily decisions to show up with growth, resilience, integrity, and a team-first mentality. Austin’s GRIT framework turns adversity into opportunity. Gratitude and Action Go Hand-in-Hand: Practicing gratitude is a conscious choice that can’t coexist with negativity. Pairing this mindset with urgent, intentional action creates real, lasting impact. Sound Bites: “If it’s just for us, we’ll probably throw in the towel, give up. But if we remember that greater purpose, that why...we’ll always be willing to do what it takes to overcome.” “It’s impossible to be truly grateful and very negative at the same time. Those two emotions can’t coexist.” “You may not be the best on the team, but you can be your best for the team.” Quote by Mick: “If you’re not getting better, you’re falling way behind, right?” Connect & Discover Austin:  Website: https://austin-hatch.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-hatch-530727a6/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austin.j.hatch/ Website: Players for Good FOLLOW MICK ON:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mickunplugged/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mickunplugged/  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mickunplugged  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickhunt/Website: https://www.mickhuntofficial.com                                                              Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mick-unplugged/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You gotta be a little patient at times, right? And trust the process, everybody, well, everybody says, let the process work itself out. But I'm not trying, like if someone could take five weeks, I'm not trying to, I wanna do it in one week. Welcome to MICK Unplugged, the number one podcast for self-improvement, leadership and relentless growth. No fluff, no filters, just hard-hitting truths, unstoppable strategies, and the mindset shifts that separate the best from the rest.

Ready to break limits? Let's go! to the show. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged and today we have a story full of emotion, full of grit, and full of resilience. We're talking to a guy who survived two plane crashes, lost his immediate family, and still earned a scholarship to play Division I basketball at the University of Michigan. His journey from tragedy to triumph is one that you're going to want to hear. You know, when I think of Austin Hatch, I think of toughness, I think of faith, I think of resiliency, but more importantly,

I think of an overall just good human being. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the guy, Mr. Austin Hatch. Austin, how you doing today, brother? Thank you very much. I really appreciate the introduction. Thanks for your kind words. Really appreciate it. No, absolutely, Austin, man. You know, I usually start with one question

for all my guests on Mick Unplugged, but, you know, I know your story. I've been a follower of yours for over 10 years now. When I ask you, Austin, what's your because? I've been a follower of yours for over 10 years now. When I ask you, Austin, what's your because? What's that thing that's deeper than your why? What's your purpose today? What would Austin Hatch say his because is?

Well, I think it's been my wife for going on seven years now, right? Honor her. Um, do, do my best to lead our family. Um, we have a two and a half year old son named Hudson Hudson. Yes, sir. And we have a five month old daughter named Marley and they're my, they're my why now they're my purpose. They're my because right. You know, yeah. So I think the, the big thing about that is remembering what that is for you. We all have a different purpose, a different why, different because, right?

But I think always remembering it is important because when things get really tough, if it's just for us, we'll probably throw in the towel, give up. But if we remember that greater purpose, that why, that, you know, I think we'll always be willing to do what it takes to overcome. So totally agree, man. And specifically, I wanted to ask you that question, man, again, just knowing your story, knowing the triumph, the tragedy and everything in between to survive. And I don't think people understand the magnitude of this, to survive two plane crashes.

And in those two plane crashes, the first one you lost your mother, your siblings, the second one you lost your dad and stepmom, right? Like the magnitude of that, how did Austin Hatch keep going, bro? When most people, that's not really going to be the thing. Like, how did Austin Hatch keep going? Well, I think after the first one,

when I tragically lost my mom, Julie, my sister, Lindsay, little brother, Ian, obviously devastating loss, incomprehensible loss, but my dad led me through that, right? And I don't know how he did it, to be honest with you, but he kept going, he kept living. And obviously, there was some grief and adjustment. But, you know, that wasn't the end of the road for us.

It was obviously a terrible loss, a terrible tragedy, terrible circumstance, but we still had life to live. And we felt that we could honor our family in heaven by how we loved each other and kept living our life. And life was good. And he was remarried a couple years later then had a great blended family, you know, and didn't replace what we lost obviously,

but it was great to have a mom and siblings at home again. And then tragically, the second playing crash happened nine days after I accepted a scholarship to play for Michigan. And by the, I was in a coma for two and a half months, and by the grace of God, came out of that coma. And I had so many people who were there to support me, right?

And who they did out of the goodness of their heart. And I had, and beeline to he made it clear to me that he was going to honor my his commitment to me. And so I felt that owed it to him to right to make to make the best recovery that I could and try to, you know, get as much my body back as I could, which obviously I was not really able to get much of anything back. But coach day true to his commitment. And I think from a leadership standpoint, that principle of following through on our commitments

all the time, no matter the task, no matter the circumstance, I feel like if we're known as that kind of a person, who wouldn't want to give everything they have for that kind of a leader? So, but yeah, back to your question though, there wasn't really an option. Well, but yeah, back to your question though. There wasn't really an option. Well, I mean, there definitely was,

but it's like I had, you know, okay, I wanted, I mean, I'm coming out of a coma right now. I can't walk. Coach B-line is gonna honor his commitment to me and have me a part of the team at Michigan. Okay, well, I got some work to do. Yeah. So, you know, it's like, what do they say?

Every day you think it better to get worse, right? So I just try to take every single day, use that as an opportunity to get a little bit, little bit better, you know, walk a little bit further, do a little bit more wall pushups, do a little, like, get my balance a little bit better. Just one day at a time. Just try to get a little bit better.

So. Yeah. No, I love that. You know, if you're not getting better, you're getting worse. And I would say, you know, especially in today's era, in today's society, if you're not getting better, you're getting worse. And I would say, you know, especially in today's era, in today's society, if you're not getting better, you're falling way behind, right? Austin, another question for you, man.

So you were given a second chance twice, right? Like, how do you stay grounded in gratitude with that? Well, I think um I think gratitude i'm not going to say that could solve every issue on the planet but if everybody In the world had had a lot more gratitude and here's the thing. It's not hard to have gratitude, right? It's just a choice to look for the good, look for the positive, look for the opportunity,

focus on the blessings, right? And it's like, man, if you, because here's what I found. Obviously we all have reasons to be negative, right? You do, I do, people watching, listening, everybody has reasons to be negative, right? And we're all human, and of course there are times when I'm negative, of course there are times when I'm negative. Of course there are times when you're negative, I'm sure when things you know, things are far

away, whatever. But coming back to gratitude, though, it's impossible to be truly grateful and very negative at the same time. It's impossible, right? Those two emotions can't coexist. You can't be, Oh, man, what a beautiful family I have. What a great life. What an amazing situation. We're so blessed. How lucky are we? You're still probably dealing with something that's not going great, but you can't really dwell on that when you're focusing more on the good. So I just choose not to ignore the negatives, not to ignore the challenges, but why not spend more time and energy looking at

what's going right, you know, and looking at the positives. Like for me, obviously, it's so terrible what I've lost, you know, and my whole immediate family and everything. And it's so sad. And I can't, I hope to see him again someday. I think I will. And, but it's like, man, my family here, I think I will. But it's like, man, my family here, like, it doesn't get any better than this. My wife, Abby, are two kids. Hopefully, my wife wants, you know, four or five. So, I think we're going to compromise and have four or five kids. So, but yeah, so it's like, man, how good life is so good here. Obviously, that doesn't mean I don't remember my family and don't acknowledge the loss, but it's hard to be overcome by it. So I have two friends who lost,

two different friends, not the same family, who each lost their parents at a young age, both somewhat tragically, and one of them also lost a sibling as well. And they each told me, or tell me, Mick, it became really hard for us to want to get close to people because we felt like if we got close to someone,

we might lose them. And the hurt of losing family is really tough, like especially at a younger age when that's traditionally not supposed to happen. Is that something that you went through? Like getting close to people, like wanting to be around people, like what was that like for you or what is that like for you?

Yeah, well, for me, kind of the opposite is true for me. I just love people. I love relationships. I'm just so grateful again. And obviously I'm so sad and what I lost and everything. But my family still impacts me to this day. And, but yeah, I'm just like, so I love, yeah, not to just completely shut down your point, but just

for me, I never dealt with that. I just, you know, my fan, I had so many people, like, especially after, well, after both plane crashes, but especially the second one when I was almost killed, I had so many people out of who out of the goodness of their heart made sacrifices to be there for me. Right? art made sacrifices to be there for me. Right. Like maybe, maybe, maybe it gave them some gratification to like, Oh yeah, you know, I'll be there, be here for this guy. Austin, it went through a terrible tragedy. I want to make sure I'm there for

him, make sure he knows I'm there for him. Maybe that, maybe that made them feel good, but it was more for me. Right. And I'm just like, man, like people that are willing to invest their time and give their, you know, their talents and energy. And it's like, yeah, I mean, I just, I love, I love people and I'm so appreciative of everybody in any area of life who's had ever who's had a role in my, in my recovery and my life today. Like I had so many, like it took a, you know, saying it takes a village, right? Yeah. Like for me, especially after the second plane crash, after both plane

crashes, but the first one I had my dad there, right? The second one I didn't and I had extended family friends. Unfortunately, unfortunately, my store was pretty public for better or worse. So I'm not going to say I had millions of people praying for me. But I think I had a lot of people praying for me. You know? So it's like, and I'm just saying, again, I'm so grateful and I love building friendships. So. There it is. No, I love that, man. And I want people to remember this as well. Austin had a basketball scholarship to Michigan, right? That means, and Austin is from Indiana.

Like some folks would say that's the Hoops capital of the world. I'm a Carolina guy, so you know, I'm a little biased to that. But man, so let's talk about Austin the Hooper for a minute. Cause I don't want people to forget that story either, man. So growing up in Indiana, one of the top high school players in the country, definitely in either, man. So growing up in Indiana, one of the top high school players in the country,

definitely in Indiana, man. So like, let's go through high school. I think what your junior year, you average what, 23, 24? So I got the second plane crash happened after my sophomore year of high school. Yeah. So freshman year was okay.

Didn't, you know, maybe, I don't know, maybe, maybe 18, 18 points. Nine. Just okay. 18 as a freshman in Indiana. Sophomore year was a little better. Yeah. 20, 24 and 24 and 10 or something.

There you go. 24 sophomore year. Okay. I remember this task. There you go. 24 sophomore year. Okay. I remember this fast. There you go. Yeah. I had a, had a good game. Coach Beeline came to see me play against a rival school from across town who we'd never beaten. And, you know, it was a packed gym, standing room only.

And Bishop Lures was the name of the school and from a Catholic school from across town. And you had a pretty good game. I think I had 30 and 16, I think. A casual 30 and 16. I like it. Yeah. And coach, and then so he waited and then he waited because he wanted to see two years

of good grades to prove that I can say I could do, I could handle the coursework at Michigan. Right. So he got my transfer here after the semester and then saw that, he's like, cool, let's bring him to Michigan. And yeah, man, it was a dream come true, dream come true. Were there any other schools you thought about going other than University of North Carolina? I knew that was number one on your list.

Yeah. Outside of UNC. Yeah, well, University of Virginia, I knew that was number one on your list. Yeah. Outside of UNC. Yeah. Yeah. Well, University of Virginia, Coach Tony Bennett, great guy, took a couple visits there. Great guy. Maybe went to Notre Dame a couple times. I wasn't interested in, I wasn't good enough to go to Duke. Oh, you were good enough.

You just made a smart choice and not decided to go there. Yeah. Like I said, yeah, I went to camp a few years and got to know Coach Collins, played a little open gym with him a little bit, and he actually wrote me a letter after the second plane accident and it was really touching that he did and he was like, he was like, yeah, yeah, it was, it was excited to recruit you. But then, yeah, then you jumped at that Michigan offer. But so, yeah, I don't

think I was, I was good enough to play for Duke, but I think I could have been okay at Michigan. I could have been okay. Yeah, for sure, man. So what did it mean to you for Coach Beeline to honor the scholarship that he had given you after the second crash? One of the things that I talk about, so I speak for a living now, right? Which maybe we'll talk about more in a minute.

Yep. I talk about integrity. The way I define integrity, of course, is doing the right thing and no one's looking. Very important, obviously. But I think it's also following through on our commitments even when circumstances change. Or I should say especially when circumstances change, right? So as I mentioned earlier, so June 15, 2011, I think, you know, coach thinks I'm gonna be able to help the team on the court.

At Michigan, my scoring and rebounding, playing defense, things like that. Y'all can get a scholarship, dream come true. We committed to each other that day. A scholarship at Michigan over four years is about a million bucks more or less. And that second plane crash happened nine days later. I might not survive. I come out of a coma, can't walk, might never walk ever again. I'm in a wheelchair, right? Comes to see me. And he basically said, I can't wait to have it on my team someday. Wow. Whenever you have to come play for me at Michigan, man, I can't wait to coach you.

So his father and his commitment didn't depend on the circumstance, you know? And I'm like, that's like, you mean in so coach beeline changed my life forever, right? He doesn't follow through on the scholarship. I don't go to Michigan. I don't, you know, he doesn't follow through on the scholarship offer. I don't go to Michigan. Don't meet my wife. We don't have our kids. I don't, I don't get to Michigan. I don't, you know, he doesn't file through on the scholarship offer. I don't go to Michigan. Don't meet my wife. We don't have our kids.

I don't know. I don't get the education there. I don't, you know, so like he changed my life and for all for anyone listening, maybe maybe your commitment following through on it is not going to change somebody's life, but maybe it does. Maybe it will right? You don't know. I mean it could and it may seem small to you,

but it's probably big to them. The impact, the impact, yeah. So what I, my thing is, I think, I think, so here's the thing though. A lot of people make commitments every day, right? Everybody does, but not everybody follows through on every commitment, especially when the circumstances change, you know?

So, so I think following through on our commitments when there's a change in circumstances is doing a common thing in an uncommon way and doing the common things in an uncommon way I think it's gonna lead people better than we found them. That's really the goal. That's my goal at least. I just my goal is I just try to lead people just a little bit better than I found them right wherever I go. So quick story so So my dad, my hero, miss him every day, obviously, my whole family, of course, but learn so much from my dad still learning from him to this day. And he would drive carpool two days a week on Wednesday

and Friday from 2005 to the spring of 2011. Before I could drive myself to school. We stopped at this McDonald's on the way to pick up my buddy and his little sister at the house. And instead of just getting the food and driving away, my dad would take an extra two or three seconds to interact with the guy at the pickup window, Joe Saia was his name, who would give us our food. And my dad would just take two or three seconds

and say, appreciate you, man, praying for you and your family, make it a great day. Look forward to seeing you next time. Very small. A family friend of mine told me last summer, the Vette Cashier from McDonald's on Dupont Road in Fort Wayne, Josiah. Josiah was at my parents' funeral after my dad

and second mom died in the second plane crash. He was at their funeral, right? And maybe he would have gone to anybody, any person that came to McDonald's regularly, maybe he would have gone to all their funerals. Probably would have. But I think it, I think he, cause he felt he should honor my dad's life and his legacy

because my dad left him a little better than he found him by doing a common thing in an uncommon way. So I think we can all do that. We can all do that. I love it. I love it, man. So let's go from Michigan to speaking, but in between speaking,

you had a corporate job at Domino's, right? And you created something that I've been following and implementing for a while now, your grit framework. Let's talk to the viewers and listeners about Austin Hatch's grit framework, man. Yeah. So, um, I think a lot of our goal, a lot, a lot of achieving our goals in life, obviously we need to rely on other people for support and help and other things have to happen too. You know, the market's gotta be in the, you know, all of these,

all this other business stuff. But I think, I think it all comes down to grit. I think it all comes down to grit. I think it all comes down to grit and Angela Duckworth really smart lady at you know, the warden business school, University of Pennsylvania, my friend not you know, Wharton is not Michigan, but you know, it's pretty good school, obviously. Not North Carolina either. But yeah, it's not UNC. But you know, yeah, whatever. She says the grist passion of perseverance for the long-term vision for your long-term goals. That's true. I think grit does apply to the long-term. You know for me I think about my journey going from a coma to playing for Michigan. That's a long-term goal. Right? That's like going from you're trying to get to the going from the first floor to the top of

the Empire State Building and you got to take the stairs. It takes grit to get there. That's long term. That's, you know, whatever. Just a couple hundred flights of stairs or whatever. It takes grit to get there, but for me, grit was every day. Because how could I expect to achieve the long term goal if I wasn't winning one day at a time? So I think grit's a little more specific than just hard work for the long term goal.

So it's four letters, four key components to it. But first and foremost, I think it's a little more specific than just hard work for the long-term goal. So it's four letters, four key components to it. But first and foremost, I think it's driven by greater purpose. I think we need to be driven by something bigger than ourselves. Faith, family, friends, teammates, college, your organization, your product, whatever your purpose is. I just think we got to be driven by something bigger than ourselves. That'll drive us just to be willing, just to be willing, because it was just for us. It'd be nice if I overcame this challenge or bounce back from this adversity, but it's something really for me

So it's gonna require too much time and effort and sacrifice. I'm not sure it's worth it, right? Hmm, but if it's for a greater purpose, whatever that is for you, I think we're always gonna be willing We're always gonna be willing to do what it takes. So purpose drives grit the G the growth mindset adversity is opportunity There's no opportunity in the in the adversity itself, right? Nobody grows from losing a game in sports. Nobody grows from losing a deal in business or having a tough week or quarter or year. Nobody grows from that.

But we grow by how we choose to respond. It's a choice to look for the opportunities. It's a choice to have the growth mindset. And the route is though, a lot of people choose to have the victim mindset. You can choose that, more people choose that though. You know, I didn't deserve this, how much easier would life or business be

if conditions were good or whatever. If family was good, why are they making my life so difficult? Okay, well, you can have, you could have that mindset, but why not choose a growth mindset, choose to look for the opportunity. So the R is the decision to be resilient and I don't think you're resilient if you overcome your challenges. I think overcoming challenges and adversity is a result of being resilient. I think you're

resilient if you take action, absolutely massive action in the face of challenge and adversity. My dad, oh he always said, Austin, go big or go home, man. Go big or go home. And that's what resilience is to me. Like I said, you're not resilient if you overcome your challenges and achieve your goals. I think you're resilient if you go big

in the face of adversity, if you take massive action. So the I, the I is integrity. Of course, you know integrity is, as I said earlier, going about our business the right way, doing the right thing and always looking, obviously very important. Yeah. But in addition to that,

I think it's following through on our commitments, especially when circumstances change, right? Yeah. People giving people our word and staying true to that. Like I said, with Coach B-line, we committed to each other June 15th. He just gave me his word. There's not nothing signed, no documents or anything. He just said, awesome.

I want to have you on my team. So I want to have you on my team at Michigan. And I said, coach, I'd love to come play for you. Like, literally, the conversation was two minutes. Wow. Like there was nothing formal, nothing, nothing signed, nothing that made him feel obligated. He was not legally obligated to do anything. But I came out of the coma after the second plane crash, couldn't walk, probably never

going to be able to play again. At least not the way that he would need me to play to help the team. But he said, yeah, I gave you my word. So it was a no brainer. This is what we do. We just follow through on our commitments at Michigan. team, but he said, yeah, I gave him my word. So it was a no brainer. This is what we do. We just follow through on our commitments at Michigan. So I think again, if we can all do that, we can all do that. So last letter of grits T T's the team first mentality, the team first mentality. So as I said, I was blessed to be a part of the team at Michigan four years.

And I've actually put myself in the record books there, believe it or not. I'm the all time lowest scoring full scholarship athlete in program history at Michigan. I scored, I scored one point in four years, one point in four years. Right. I'm definitely the all time lowest scoring full scholarship athlete, but I was on the team that, so I had a role, right? Yeah.

Be a great teammate, check balls in practice, help with drills, rebounding shoot down before games, unload luggages and road trips, you know, work hard every day to be the best that I could be and here's what I learned. So my wife was a three time All-American volleyball player at Michigan. She was the best on her team. Three of the four years her freshman year there was there was an All-American center, a senior All-American, she was the best that year. But sophomore, junior, senior year,

my wife Abby was the best on our team. I was not, obviously. Even though I wasn't the best on the team, I could be my best for the team, right? I think we can all do that again. We may not be the CEO or team captain or president or headmaster, principal, whatever. We may not be the CEO or team captain or president or headmaster, principal, whatever. We may not be the best on the team.

We may not be the most important person on the team, but we can all make the effort every day to be our best for the team. So just, it's a very subtle difference, best on the team versus best for the team. So again, I think if we can all just make the effort every day to be the best that we can be for the team, I think the team's gonna win.

I love that, brother. I just wrote that quote down, man. Like, that parallel so much, not just in corporate world, like you said, but in leadership, too. Like, understanding that as a leader, right? Like, it's not about you. It's about doing what's best for others. And that's something that as a leader, right? Like, it's not about you, it's about doing what's best for others. And that's something that I speak about,

and I know you do a lot with leadership and what you do as well. I wanna go back to something you said early on about mindset, man. I'm a big believer in mindset, but also a bigger believer in action and impact behind the mindset. But when you think of mindset, what are some of the daily habits

or mental disciplines that the viewers and listeners need to start putting into practice? I think it's, you know, for me and my goal, my goal is to build every day, Build the business, build my family, build my marriage, just build, just grow. And I think, I'll be totally honest with you, I don't have a checklist of three or four things that I go through every single day to make sure I do that.

But it's just attacking life with a sense of urgency. With a sense of urgency, what here's what I've learned Look, I'm only 30. I mean, I don't have that much experience in business or life yet or family or anything but The most you think back to sports too, right? Like the most urge the most urgent person usually wins Usually right like if I think back in my own life, it's like, man, like, if you say winning is achieving a goal,

that's a win. And most of the times that I've won, it's because I really wanted it. I was urgent, I had some urgency to it, right? And it's like, I think about my life now, it's like, as a dad, I wanna attack my role as a dad with some urgency. I wanna attack my role as a dad with some urgency. I want to attack my role as a husband with some urgency. I want to attack my role as the leader and provider of my family with some urgency.

I want to attack my business with a sense of urgency. Not like, because you had to be a little patient at times, trust the process. Everybody says, let the process work itself out. But I'm not trying, if something could take five weeks, I'm not trying to, I want to do it in one week. I want to attack with some urgency. Maybe we can get our family where we want it to be in 10 years. I don't want to wait 10 years.

I want to be there sooner than that. So I think attacking life with a sense of urgency. And I think that applies differently for all of us in different ways. But I think that's a good way to live. Good way to live. For sure. What's one principle that you live by today? one principle that you live by today? So for me and my family, there's three things that, and obviously our kids are really young, they don't understand this yet. Just for us, honor God, respect everyone, leave things in people better than you found them.

Yeah. That's how we do it. And I'm like, obviously the faith is a big part of my family. But going back to that thing that I said about integrity, just trying to lead people everywhere you go, just trying to leave them a little bit better than you found them, right? Yes, sir.

I definitely don't do that all the time with everybody I ever interact with in the world but like man you know what if you can if you can fit if you at the end of the day if you can look back on your day and this is kind of a leadership self-assessment too if you think about it like who did I impact today the more the more specific about that you can be the better whether it was my obviously you know your your family probably but even maybe even beyond that today, the more specific about that you can be the better. Whether it was my, obviously, you know, your family, probably, but maybe even beyond that,

if you had a call with someone, if you closed a deal, if you had an opportunity to, you know, collaborate with somebody else, think just who did I impact today? And how will I be remembered by the people that I work with today? Who did I impact and how will I be remembered by the people that I work with today? Who did it impact and how will I be remembered? And I think if you can answer both of those questions in the positive sense,

if you can say, yeah, I impacted these people, well, it's not really up to us whether to say, well, then I impacted them, but you kind of feel it, right? If you think, and obviously it's not up to us to say, yeah, I left you better than I found you. I definitely did. Like, of course that's not us, but it's not on us to say that. But if you can think in your mind, right?

If you can honestly give yourself a good grade on that, if you can honestly tell yourself, yeah, I left some people better than I found them today. If you can string a lot of days like that together, man, I think it's, think you're going to be in a good place. I think you're going to be a good place. I love it, man. I love it. All right, Austin, you're a Michigan guy. I'm a Carolina guy. We're going to go starting five, all time. You're all time Michigan starting five against my all time Carolina starting five. Who you got is you starting five at Michigan, all-time.

Okay. So you could obviously go back to, you know, the Kazzie Russell, but that was before my time. I never saw him play. I know he's good. Okay. So we're going to do it, people that we saw play. Is that going to be the caveat? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Cool. Cool Okay, so I'm gonna say Trey Burke okay, yeah Trey Burke point guard

I'm gonna say I think I think Caris Levert. Okay. Two guards. Okay. Caris, my friend Caris played, yeah. You could do, gosh, who could you do? Who could be three, four? you could do gosh who's you three well yeah because now I'm thinking

Trey Burke, Karras, let's go I think I think Tim Hardaway could play the three he's kind of a two he could play three yeah he's tall yeah yeah he's got a three he's got a three okay four um maybe no i'm gonna do i'm gonna do trey burke No, I'm going to do Trey Burke. Okay, Trey Burke, Charis, Tim. Let's go Mo Wagner. Okay. At the four, my friend Mo.

I never saw Chris Weber play, but I think he was good at the five. Maybe Coach Howard is in there too somewhere. Maybe Joanne Howard's in there too. Joanne Howard at the five. Okay. Yeah. Okay. So no Jalen Rose, no C Webb.

Okay. But you didn't see them play, so I got it. Yeah. Okay. So you got Michael Jordan in here somewhere. Oh, yeah. So I'll give you, so if we're going, guys that we saw play at Carolina,

so that I saw play, so I'm gonna give you, yeah, my point guard is, I have so many options at point guard. But I'm gonna go to the OG Kenny Smith. Yep, Kenny the Jet Smith, yeah. Kenny the Jet Smith. So. Kenny the Jet Smith. So I've won the point guard position. You think Kenny the Jet or, yeah.

I'm messing with you. We'll let the listeners and viewers tell us who won this matchup. I got Kenny Smith at the one, at the point. I got Jordan at the two. At the three, I got Jordan at the two. At the three, I'm gonna give you Vince Carter. At the four, I'm gonna give you Tyler Hansbrough. Yeah.

Right? At the five, I got something special for you. So at the five, I got someone from Indiana. And you talk about grit. We called him Big Grit. So Eric Montross. Lukeit. So Eric Montross. Luke Zeller. Eric Montross. It's before your time. Big Grits. Eric Montross. Yeah. Yeah. Tyler Zeller was there. Tyler. Luke was his middle name. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So we'll let the

fans, we'll let the viewers and listeners say who's all time five. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, so we'll let the fan, we'll let the viewers and listeners say who's all time. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay. So, so, so, yeah, you might have me in the one. Yeah. Obviously, Michael, you have me in the two. Who's your three? Vince Carter. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, Tyler Hansborough. Yeah Versus Mo versus um Jawa Howard Jawa Howard versus big grits Eric Montross. I'll give yeah, I'll give you one matchup But they did it in the championship game and we want Another thing though, I never saw Coach Howard play.

I mean, I was super young. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I was born in 94, so. Yeah. That was his senior year. Yeah, that was his senior year at Michigan. Yeah. Yeah.

Okay, or junior year at Michigan, my bad. Okay. Yeah. I do think we won. I do think you guys struggle scoring with us because you know, we're a fast paced up and down the court team. Yeah, we got Jordan and Vince catching alley oops all day. Yeah, Tyler hands bro in the second half is just gonna say give me the ball and dominate. Yeah, Eric Montross is sending everything back to half court, blocking it. Okay, okay. Okay. Well, you know what? Maybe we'll, uh, Okay. How about this though? How about this though? So Post 2010. Ooh.

Ooh. Yeah. Yeah. See, cause all the good guys that I know are like, like. Yeah. Trey, Tim, Karras. And the game changed, right? There's not really a five post 2010. Like not like when I grew up in the 80s and 90s

where you had a dominant center that just not in the block and stayed there. like now center is a point guard almost yeah well not yet well now if you're if you're if you're if you're 610 plus and you can't shoot a three you're probably not gonna play right exactly yeah we got to come back to post 2010 because you know I do have some ice I'm still gonna win the point guard game though yeah you know point I do have some, I'm still going to win the point guard game though. Yeah. You know, point guards, that's what we do.

Roy Williams was that guy with the point guard. But you probably got me in some other spots. You probably got me in some other spots. Yeah, for sure. Appreciate you having me on, man. Great to spend some time with you. Enjoy the conversation and me on, man. Great to spend some time with you, enjoy the conversation. And, um...

Absolutely, man. Look forward to seeing it whenever it's published or released. Oh, oh, for sure. And we're going to get some one-on-one time, too, man. I've got some events coming up. I'm going to get with Rose over at Players for Good and probably get you to speak at at least one of my events this fall. So, definitely going to do that.

If you could leave the listeners and viewers with one thing, man, what would that be? Um, part of the honor, my dad's legacy for me, right? Um, do the common things in an uncommon way and try to lead people in places a little better than you found them, wherever we go. I love it, man. I love it. Where can people follow and find you? So I'm on LinkedIn, just Austin Hatch. I mean, I can send you my contact info

or anybody can email me, austin at austin-hatch.com is my email. Would at Austin-hatch.com is my email. Would love to hear from anybody. Would love to, I would love an opportunity to share my story and message about grit and thriving in the midst of adversity. And is there anything else that I can do to serve or contribute in any way?

Don't hesitate to reach out. You got it, Austin. Brother, I appreciate you spending some time with me today. Honored to talk with you and hear more about you, man. Like so very touching. Just honored that you spent some time with me today, brother. No, I appreciate you having me, man. Thanks for the time.

Look forward to standing in touch. And we'd love to, an opportunity to collaborate sometime in the future. You got it. And for all the viewers and listeners, remember you're because is your superpower. Go unleash it. ["The Next Level"]

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