Christian Hammond didn’t arrive at NC State looking to be the loudest voice in the room. He came in as the first commitment to the Wolfpack’s rebuilt roster, and even with plenty of attention around the newcomers, the new shooting guard says he’s more focused on fitting in than feeding the noise.
In a conversation with Pack Pride, Hammond said the move to Raleigh has gone smoothly from the start. The logistics were simple enough, but what has stood out most to him is the setting and the people around the program.
“It’s been good. I mean, I was super excited.
Obviously, I made it a while ago. And then just getting out here was easy, you know, like moving and everything, simple like that.”
He went on to say he’s taken to the area quickly.
“But just Raleigh is a very beautiful area. I really like it a lot.
Just as far as the community support, the fans, everything. Campus is amazing.
It’s beautiful. And then as far as basketball, it’s just been amazing.
Like just getting to know the guys. Really just gelling and meshing with the guys real well.
Just getting to know everybody.”
That chemistry, he said, is already showing up in the day-to-day work. With so many new faces in the mix, Hammond believes the group is settling in because the personalities fit and the buy-in is there.
“I feel like we have a lot of, you know, good personalities on our team. I feel like we’re all meshing really well together. So just getting to know them and just growing each other every day.”
He added that the progress has come on and off the floor.
“You know, a lot of us are new, but just the progress that we’ve made as far as just like, you know, offensively, defensively, you know, just even the small stuff off the court, it’s just been good. It’s been a lot coming at us, but I feel like we’ve all just, you know, been all in for each other. And I feel like that’s the biggest part of it, being all in for one another.”
Hammond was also asked whether he feels overlooked now that some of the other additions are drawing more buzz. His answer was blunt: not really. He said he doesn’t spend much time worrying about how he’s being talked about publicly.
“I’ll say no. I don’t really pay attention to like as much as what the media says and everything around me.
Because, you know, I mean, everyone’s going to have their opinions and say what they want to say. There’s always going to be people being high on you, people being low on you, all that kind of stuff.”
Instead, he said he blocks it out and focuses on the team.
“So I just kind of, you know, just kind of like block it all out. You know what I mean?
But, you know, I’d praise these guys, too. These guys are very talented.
You know, Preston, Darius, Paul, EY, Ven, like I said, everyone on the squad. Like everyone’s just super talented.”
That attitude carries into how he sees his own game. Hammond described himself as a player who works within the flow rather than forcing shots or dominating possessions.
“For me, I would just say I just play on the flow of the game, you know, not selfish. I’m not, like, hunting my shot.
You know, like I said, I’m not a selfish player offensively. But I’m just trying to make the right plays.”
If the shot is there, he’ll take it, and he’s comfortable scoring from the midrange when the offense calls for it.
“You know, if the ball comes to me and I have a shot, I’ll shoot it. Like you said, I like to score in the midrange.
So I really just kind of whatever the team needs to win. Like that’s kind of the role that I want to play.”
He also pointed to the way NC State wants to play offensively, saying the group is operating with pace and freedom rather than a rigid structure.
“I mean, the offense is free-flowing. You know, so sometimes, you know, I wouldn’t say we have a traditional bringing up point guard every single time.
Like, you know, whoever gets the ball on misses, you know, we get in, we push, try to play fast. So here and there, maybe.
I wouldn’t say we have a traditional point guard, though.”
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