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Averaging three points per game, just twelve minutes per game, James Palmer Jr. decided to call it a quits with Miami after his Sophomore season. Thankfully for Husker nation Palmer decided to transfer to Nebraska.
Palmer quickly rose to the top of the Big Ten, scoring 17.2 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game, while also placing himself as one of the most efficient scorers from the charity stripe in the nation. He definitely would’ve liked to have his free throw percentage higher, but for how much he got to the line, it didn’t matter.
Throughout the season Palmer had some pretty memorable moments, whether it was dunking it like Kobe at home against Penn State, posterizing Kevin Huerter against Maryland, or saving Nebraska’s NCAA tournament hopes with this shot (at the time...):
In addition to these crazy moments, it seemed like Palmer could switch into do-it-all mode and take on teams 1v5. Whether it was the Ohio State game in which he scored his career high of 35 points, or the Maryland game at home where the Huskers barely pulled out a victory.
By the end of the season, the coaches voted Palmer to First Team All-Big Ten and Second Team by the media. That trend continued when he made the 2018-2019 preseason All-Big Ten Team at media days, along with nine others.
This year Palmer won’t have to carry the entire load, well, hopefully. Surrounding him will include 2017-2018 All-Big Ten Honorable Mention Isaac Copeland, fourth year starter Glynn Watson Jr., and the player “who seems to not know how good he actually is” Isaiah Roby. All four of these players are more than capable of landing a spot on an All-Big Ten Team this season, they just have to remain healthy and play together.
Palmer will work the same role as last season, his guard/forward position, where he will complement Watson and Thomas Allen with ball-handling. In some scenarios, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Tim Miles have Palmer take up the ball and take on an isolation, similar to what Terran Petteway did back in his Husker days.
If Palmer repeats his success from last year, Nebrasketball will be cooking this year.