On a tennis court with a makeshift basketball hoop installed on the side, a 10-year-old’s bleeding knee told the tale of the fierce competition within the Hammond basketball clan.
It was there six years ago that the youngest Hammond brother, Jeremiah, was on the receiving end of hard contact from middle brother, Christian, during a finish at the rim. As Christian insisted there was no foul, oldest brother Julian III looked on with a smile, and dad Julian II laughed.
It was the type of hard-nosed play that might’ve made the family’s basketball patriarch, the late Denver Rockets forward Julian I, crack a grin, too.
“Sometimes, you need that punk session as a young baller,” recalled Julian II, who was acting as coach, referee and dad that day. “So I didn’t call a foul. I was like, ‘Hey dawg, we’ve got to be tougher. Just accept the tough love.’ We all laugh to this day about it.”
Such were the rigorous games of 1-on-1-on-1 that the trio of brothers routinely played on the court inside their Denver condominium complex.
Following the basketball legacy of their grandpa and parents was never supposed to be easy.
Both Julian II and their mom, Ruby, played collegiately at Loyola Marymount and Cal Poly Pomona, and Julian II followed that with a professional stint in Australia.
Now, the brothers are in the midst of impressive careers of their own after pushing each other in those pickup games growing up.
Julian III is a senior point guard at CU, where he’s emerged as the Buffs’ featured player this winter. Christian is a redshirt freshman guard at Santa Clara, and Jeremiah is a junior point guard averaging 20.2 points per game for Cherry Creek.
The brothers took cues from their dad, and inspiration from their grandpa, while evolving into similar yet distinct players.
“My dad, he can walk on the court and his shot is always good — he doesn’t even need to warm up,” Julian III said. “And my mom could shoot too, so I was always around shooters, and that’s been a big influence on me and my brothers.
“My grandpa also played a big part in our development. He was always giving me pointers here and there, always giving me advice on the little details to get me better. I looked up to him a lot, because he got to where I want to get to.”
Julian III is the deep shooter of the brothers. Christian and Jeremiah have more of a midrange scoring game. All three are keen on the floater, a shot they practiced ad nauseam out on those tennis courts, as well as the nearby park.
In those sessions, the memory of Julian I’s accomplishments in the ABA from 1967 to ’72 was never far from anyone’s mind. Julian I died in 2022, but during summers when the boys were growing up, the grandpa would watch them at his house and fulfill a similar role to that of Julian II: rebounder and basketball sage.
“Knowing what my dad did in his career, that motivated me to train my kids,” Julian II said. “I’m driven to train my kids to make them better than what I was, and I’m driven to make them better because of his example. Everything that he represented, I tried to follow, and that got ingrained in my sons, too.”
In Boulder this season, Julian III’s emerged as the Buffs’ leading scorer at 13.9 points per game, with 3.3 assists. He saw significant time as a sophomore and junior while playing behind KJ Simpson, who is now on a two-way contract with the Charlotte Hornets.
With Simpson in the pros, CU head coach Tad Boyle says Julian III is giving the Buffs “everything he’s got” even as CU has struggled to an 0-5 start in Big 12 play.
“Playing with and behind KJ Simpson made it difficult for Julian (to get substantial starts), but now that it’s his team, so to speak, he’s delivering in a lot of different areas for us,” Boyle said. “He needs some help for sure, but I’m really proud of him and his career.”
In the changed college landscape where the Buffs struggle to acquire transfers with the program’s limited NIL resources, Boyle — who signed five high school players in November — is determined to keep CU relevant through recruiting and retaining young players.
Boyle says high school recruits like Julian III who stick around a program and wait their turn are “very rare.” But the future of the Buffs, at least as long as Boyle is coach, hinges on players just like the point guard.
“If I would’ve gone to the transfer portal and tried to recruit over Julian last offseason, I would’ve been sending a message that I don’t believe in him,” Boyle said. “And I didn’t do that. The loyalty he showed us throughout his career is being reciprocated by our coaching staff in terms of the belief and loyalty we’re showing him this season.
“… There’s something being lost (in the professionalization of college sports). And to me, the thing that’s being lost is guys like Julian Hammond who come here, work their tails off, get better every year. To me, that’s what college sports are about.”
In Santa Clara, Christian is taking note of Julian III’s patience. He decided to redshirt this season after playing in 19 games as a true freshman.
So Christian is biding his time, and he hopes the result is a breakout collegiate season in 2025-26.
“I just want to make the most of my talent and not waste a year where I wouldn’t be playing much, because there’s a few older guards in front of me,” Christian said. “So the coaches and I thought it would be smart to redshirt. It gives me another year to work on my body, my reads and tighten up my game.”
Jeremiah is primed to follow in his brothers’ Division I footsteps. He currently has an offer from Northern Colorado, as well as serious interest from CU, CSU, Boise State and Idaho.
Christian believes Jeremiah “could be the best out of all of us.”
“He has the frame and is more athletic than me and Julian,” Christian said. “He has all the tools. He just has to put it together.”
Like any youngest sibling in an uber-athletic family, Jeremiah is eager to make his own name.
“I want to have my own story besides being a Hammond,” Jeremiah said. “Julian’s brother, Christian’s brother, Julian’s son — I was always known as that growing up, and it took a lot of work to be known as Jeremiah.”
Julian II is just enjoying the ride. He maintains a strong opinion about who the best shooter in the family is — “They still can’t shoot like me. I can shoot from 30 (feet deep), dawg,” he says with a laugh — but he knew enough to acknowledge when it was best to quit challenging his sons.
“My cutoff for paying them in 1-on-1 was 12 years old, then I hung it up,” Julian II said. “I beat Julian 7-0 when he was 12, then I said, ‘Man this is too hard.’ They’ve each got a whole lot on the old man now, and it makes me proud.”
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