After 121 games in a Colorado Buffaloes uniform, Julian Hammond III’s college basketball career is officially over as he has signed a professional contract with Serbian basketball team KK Vršac.
Hammond joined the Buffs for the 2021-22 season and contributed as a sixth man, occasional starter and then go-to scorer in his fourth and final season. He tried to prolong his college career and entered the transfer portal this summer in hopes that four-year college players would be granted additional eligibility.
This did not come to pass, however, as Judge Matthew Houston struck down an injunction sought by four athletes from Duke and North Carolina, respectively. Four-year eligibility remains a question for the future, but it will not be resolved in time for players like Hammond.
Hammond will start his career in Serbia’s top domestic league — not to be confused with the Adriatic League, where the top teams from the former Yugoslavia (and the UAE?) compete. It will be a big adjustment for the Coloradan, as his team has just two Americans, while the rest of the roster and coaching staff is Serbian.