Buffs add verbal pledge from Cherry Creek 2021 point guard Julian Hammond
On Saturday, Colorado's Class of 2021 grew to three, as Tad Boyle, Mike Rohn and Co. secured a verbal commitment from Cherry Creek multi-sport standout Julian Hammond.
On the hardwood, Hammond plays point guard while he also had a highly successful junior campaign on the gridiron, as he quarterbacked the Bruins to a CHSAA Class 5A state title in December.
Hammond helped Cherry Creek's varsity hoops team to a 19-5 record this past season and averaged 21.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per contest in the process.
As the Bruins' signal caller, he led the team to a perfect 14-0 campaign in 2019, which culminated in a 35-10 CHSAA Class 5A state title win over Columbine on Dec. 7.
Hammond posted a 63% completion percentage (187-298), throwing for 2,354 yards and 28 touchdowns compared to just seven interceptions.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard received offers for both football and basketball. Northern Colorado offered him a scholarship in both sports, while Idaho and Montana State were also interested in his services as a quarterback.
Denver and Wyoming joined the Buffs in offering him to continue his basketball career in college.
With his addition, joining forward Quincy Allen and center Lawson Lovering — both of whom are four-star commits — Colorado now boasts the No. 14 Class of 2021 in the nation.
The Buffs have two additional 2021 scholarships they can use this cycle, as the team will lose McKinley Wright IV, Jeriah Horne, Alexander Strating, D'Shawn Schwartz and Maddox Daniels, all of whom are seniors this year.
Before Hammond chose Colorado, he first had to choose whether he wanted to play basketball or football at the next level.
While Hammond certainly downplays the success he's had as a football player — noting his stats and Colorado state championship ring — he decided that basketball was to be the path he took in college.
On top of that, basketball is in his blood. Hammond's grandfather, also named Julian, played college basketball at Tulsa in the mid-1960s and later played with the Denver Rockets within the American Basketball Association from 1967-1972.
“I always thought I wanted to play basketball somewhere," he said. "That, for me, was always the goal. I just happened to play football, too. I wanted to take the football opportunity that felt like the right place for me, but I always had been set on wanting to play basketball.”
As far as his recruitment by Colorado goes, Rohn deserves the lion's share of credit for identifying Hammond and getting to know him over the last few months.
The Rohn factor combined with playing Pac-12 basketball proved to be major deciding factors in Hammond choosing CU.
“Me and coach Rohn made a pretty good relationship," Hammond said. "He’s been recruiting me for awhile and I wanted to go to Colorado because ever since I was little, that was the school I wanted to go to. Also, the opportunity of the competition — you’re playing in the Pac-12. There are no nights off. You’re playing against a good team every night with good players. It’s good competition.”
“They got up to No. (16) in the country (last season) and seeing that, it just shows how good the opportunity is and what I could really be playing for and shooting for.”
Boyle has an identity as a defensive-minded coach who demands stout defense and aggressive rebounding by his players and Hammond said he's prepared to get his hands dirty on defense.
Generally speaking, he feels confident that he'll fit into the Buffs' system.
“I feel like it doesn’t matter what kind of game I play," he said. "Whatever (Colorado) needs from me is what they’re going to get. I feel like I’m a solid defender and have pretty good hands. I feel like I’m a pretty good rebounding guard, so I’ll fit in pretty good.”
Between now and when he arrives in Boulder, Hammond has a few areas of his game he wants to continue polishing.
“I want to keep on expanding my range," he said. "I want to be able to step out of an NBA ring, a good two or three feet behind the three-point line. I also want to be a better ball handler and just get stronger.”
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