Former Colony standout returning to Alaska to play basketball

A former Colony High school standout is returning to his home state to play basketball.

Jeremiah Hersrud, a 2021 CHS graduate, is transferring to UAF, where he will play Division II basketball for the Nanooks.

"Shish is someone I was very excited to have join our program," UAF head coach Frank Ostanik said in a press release of Hersrud, who also goes by the nickname Shish. "I have coached against Shish's teams at Colony. He played with a lot of great players, but anyone who watched those Colony teams play knows Shish made them go. Shish is an exceptional court leader, someone who is capable of controlling the game and making everyone around him better. I am also ecstatic to have an Alaskan player out of Colony High School, which is a program known for its execution, toughness and discipline."

Hersrud, a first-team all-state selection as a senior with the Knights, spent the last two seasons with the Bellevue Bulldogs, a Northwest Athletic Conference program, in Bellevue, Washington. Hersrud, a point guard, started 28 games for Bellevue as a sophomore, averaging nearly 10 points and about three assists per game. He also shot 42 percent from the field and 32 percent from beyond the arc.

Hersrud also earned second and third-team all-state honors in high school.

Hersrud is one of two former first-team all-state guards in Alaska that Ostanik and the Nanooks have brought back to Alaska after time in the NWAC. Former Ketchikan standout Chris Lee, who led the Kings to the 2019 4A state title, also transferred to UAF recently. Lee played for Edmonds Community College in Washington.

The Nanooks have also signed Jackson Krug, a 6-foot-7 guard, and former Kodiak standout.

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