BOULDER, Colo. — After an offseason that left the Colorado men's basketball team void of stars Evan Battey, Jabari Walker, Elijah Parquet and Keeshawn Barthelemy -- a new crop of Buffs were begged to blossom.
"We've got some returning guys that have got to step up into different roles and be everyday guys, when maybe last year they were pieces to the puzzle," head coach Tad Boyle said.
One corner piece to the puzzle is a point guard with a pretty good corner three. Boyle knows he can rely on the quiet confidence of sophomore Julian Hammond III.
"He's that quiet guy that sometimes gets overlooked and he's probably the most steady, consistent guard that we have right now," Boyle said.
That should be no secret to those who watched him lead two sports at Cherry Creek High School. Hammond led the Bruins football team to two-consecutive state championships in 2019 and 2020 as the quarterback his junior and senior years. He then led the 2021 basketball team to the Final Four as the team's point guard.
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Hammond wears his home on his sleeve, with his area code "303" tattooed onto his left bicep. It makes his fight to bring Colorado basketball back to prominence even more personal.
"It's exciting being from here, growing up here, and ever since I knew I could play college basketball, I knew I wanted to play here," he said.
Despite some speed bumps that he predicts in the early goings, Boyle knows that Hammond could eventually move some mountains in Boulder.
"I got a lot of confidence in Julian because he's got that 'it' factor that you can't coach," he said.
Hammond's father, Julian Hammond II, played professionally in Australia and grandfather, Julian, Sr., played for the Denver Rockets of the ABA from 1967-72. The eldest Hammond passed away on October 8, 2022.
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