For Noah Feddersen, finding a new home meant finding a program that needed a consistent post presence.

Colorado certainly fit that bill. Yet when decision time arrived for Feddersen, choosing the Buffaloes was as much about the guy destined to feed Feddersen the ball than CU’s glaring hole in the paint.

A year ago, Feddersen leaned on a similar influence, as the return of classmate and North Dakota State guard Damari Wheeler-Thomas helped keep Feddersen with the Bison. This spring, Feddersen shifted from the Bison to the Buffaloes, and the return of CU point guard Barrington Hargress played a key role in his decision.

“It’s definitely something you look at,” Feddersen said. “Going back to last spring, when I was deciding whether I’d come back to North Dakota State, that was a big factor on why I did was because of the point guard that we had coming back. Great teams have a really good big and a really good point guard that kind of lead the way for the team. Having Barrington coming back definitely was a big influence on me.”

Feddersen is getting accustomed to Boulder and the Buffs this summer, as coach Tad Boyle’s club continues to go through summer workouts. It has been an adjustment for the 6-foot-10 Feddersen, a Wisconsin native who spent four seasons at North Dakota State, including a redshirt year as a true freshman in 2022-23.

Of the 13 scholarship players on CU’s roster, seven are true freshmen and another, Charlotte transfer David Gomez, played only two games as a freshman last season before suffering a season-ending injury. So while Feddersen is one of 10 newcomers on CU’s roster, his 99 games played at North Dakota State over the past three seasons already makes him one of the Buffs’ most experienced players.

“It’s a big difference (in the Big 12). Every night you’re facing a team that has that athleticism and size,” Feddersen said. “Compared to where I was before, where it was maybe a couple guys, but not every night you’re playing someone like that. But I’m very confident. We played Michigan State this year in the (NCAA) Tournament, so I got a taste of that and I thought I held my own pretty well. I’m definitely excited and ready for the opportunity.”

Feddersen went 5-for-7 at the free throw line with seven points in that tournament matchup against the Spartans, and the hope is he will bring an element of interior physicality to a Buffs team that finished 14th in Big 12 games in average rebounding margin (minus-3.7).

Feddersen averaged 5.0 rebounds last season and 6.0 in 2024-25. During his first two years in the rotation at NDSU, Feddersen displayed an ability to stretch the defense, going 42-for-109 (.385) on 3-pointers. That mark dropped to .293 (17-for-58) this past season, but Feddersen’s biggest impact in Boulder needs to occur in the paint.

“The biggest thing for me is always going to be the people. Both the coaches and the players that are coming back,” Feddersen said. “With Colorado, I really like all of the coaches, coach Boyle and all the assistants. I really enjoy the mix of coaches that we have here. We’ve got some young ones that are former players and also some older coaches that have a lot of experience.

“And with the returning players, obviously as a big man the point guard (Hargress) is really exciting for me. So that was one of the biggest things, the people.”