Julian Hammond III looks to keep spot start prowess going for CU Buffs at Pac-12 tournament
Mar. 6—The win against Utah in the regular season finale wasn't the first time Julian Hammond III was pressed into the starting lineup as a sudden replacement for KJ Simpson.
The result, however, was the same.
Much like he did in a spot start in place of Simpson in early January, Hammond embraced the opportunity and came up big when pressed into action against the Utes. With Simpson sidelined for this week's Pac-12 Conference tournament in Las Vegas after contracting mono, Hammond will get a chance to make a difference once again when the ninth-seeded CU men's basketball team tips off in the opening first-round game on Wednesday against Washington (1 p.m. MT, Pac-12 Network).
"He's done a great job in both those situations," CU head coach Tad Boyle said. "We beat Oregon without KJ. We beat Utah without KJ. We certainly can beat Washington without KJ. But we have to play well, and we have to have performances from other guys like Julian. Like Nique (Clifford), his first career double-double (against Utah). Everybody else has to step their game up a little bit."
When Simpson missed the Jan. 5 home win against Oregon due to a combination of injury and illness, Hammond stepped in to go 4-for-9 overall and 3-for-6 on 3-pointers with a then-career-high 16 points. Hammond did it again with Simpson sidelined against Utah, going 5-for-5 at the free throw line with 15 points, five assists and five steals.
Like several Buffs players, Hammond has struggled at times — he scored three points total in 43 minutes in the three games prior to the Utah finale — but he has fared well as a starter, as well as in games against Washington. Last year, Hammond won Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors after going 4-for-4 on 3-pointers with 14 points against the Huskies. In a Jan. 19 home loss against UW, Hammond went 8-for-8 at the free throw line while scoring a career-high 18 points.
"I would just say I feel ready to go every time I step on the court," Hammond said. "It's a bigger role (starting). We've just got to finish on offense. We'll get good shots against the inside-outside. We know we've just got to finish. But it's a good zone. It's different because (UW) plays really high. We'll have to attack the paint, get paint touches, get them moved in rotations, and just finish at that point."
CU leading scorer Tristan da Silva didn't practice on Monday, but Boyle described it as more of a load management situation as the junior forward continues to recover from a sprained ankle. Boyle ruled out Javon Ruffin for the tournament, as the redshirt freshman guard has missed the past three games (seven overall) due to a knee injury.
Despite CU's wildly inconsistent season, the Buffs head to Vegas still listed in several NIT projections, mostly due to a NET ranking of No. 71 on Monday. CU almost certainly needs a win against the Huskies to remain in that NIT conversation. And if that happens, Boyle hasn't yet ruled out a postseason return from Simpson.
"That's a great question and I talked to our trainer about that (Monday). I don't know the answer to that," Boyle said. "But I know we're going to look at every possibility. If he can, he will. If he can't, he won't."
