How growing up in a basketball family molded NC State’s Christian Hammond into a 'tough' player

A basketball hoop affixed to the side fence of a tennis court outside of an apartment complex 13 miles away from downtown Denver doesn’t look like much from afar. There’s only a free throw line painted on the firm surface meant for fuzzy yellow balls to be hit from racket to racket over a net.  But it’s here where Santa Clara transfer guard Chrisitan Hammond learned to deal with bumps and bruises. Each time he’d set foot on the unsuspecting basketball training ground with his two brothers, Julian III and Jeremiah, Chrisitan was prepared for battle.  After all, that’s what a 1-on-1 game between the siblings would turn into. Nobody wanted to lose these wars inside this basketball-crazed family. Fouls were common. Getting tossed into the fence was just as likely to happen with the physical style of play.  “We grew up tough,” Christian told TheWolfpacker.com. “You can’t be soft. If you’re soft, you get left behind.” Welcome to the Hammond Household.