James Palmer Jr.
James Alfred Palmer Jr. (born July 31, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Agua Caliente Clippers of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
 Palmer at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in April 2019 | |
| No. 12 – Agua Caliente Clippers | |
|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard |
| League | NBA G League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | July 31, 1996 Washington, D.C. |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 207 lb (94 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
|
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2019 / Undrafted |
| Playing career | 2019–present |
| Career history | |
| 2019–present | Agua Caliente Clippers |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
High school career
Palmer started his freshman year at St. John's College High School in Washington, DC. After his freshman year, he transferred to Dr. Henry A. Wise High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. After attending his sophomore year at Wise HS he was recruited back to St. John's by new coach Sean McAloon, where he continued his junior and senior year. As a senior, he averaged 15.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game as he led his team to a 27-4 record and an appearance in D.C. State Athletic Association semifinal. For his efforts, he earned first-team all-conference in the highly-competitive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. Palmer played summer ball for Team Takeover, one of the top AAU teams in the region.
Recruiting
Palmer was ranked in the top 100 players in the class of 2014 by both Scout and Rivals. He was ranked the number one player in the D.C. region by ESPN.[1] Palmer committed to Miami on August 5, 2013.
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Palmer Jr. SG |
Washington, D.C. | St. John's College High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Aug 5, 2013 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:  | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 99, 12 (SG) ESPN: (PG) | ||||||
Sources:
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College career
Freshman
Palmer started five of 38 games played in the 2014-2015 season, averaging 3.7 points, 1.4 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game.[2]
Sophomore
Palmer played in 34 of 35 games in the 2015-2016 season, averaging 3.4 points, 1.1 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.4 steals in 11.6 minutes per game. In the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament, he scored six points against eventual national champion Villanova.
Junior
After transferring from Miami, Palmer became the go-to scoring option at Nebraska and led the team to a 22-win season and NIT appearance. He averaged 17.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
Following the season, Palmer declared for the 2018 NBA draft but did not hire an agent. On May 26, he announced he was returning to the Cornhuskers.[3]
Professional career
Palmer was not selected in the 2019 NBA Draft but was signed by the Phoenix Suns for the 2019 NBA Summer League.[6]
Palmer signed an Exhibit 10 training camp deal in August 2019 with the Los Angeles Clippers before being waived in October.[7][8] This deal eventually resulted in him playing for the Agua Caliente Clippers for the 2019–20 NBA G League season. In his first game with the Clippers, Palmer scored 40 points on 15-of-19 shooting to go with five rebounds in a 121-120 win over the Northern Arizona Suns.[9] He averaged 19.1 points, 2.7 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game during the 2019-20 season.[10]
Career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | Miami | 38 | 5 | 13.3 | .413 | .365 | .652 | 1.4 | .7 | .1 | .2 | 3.7 |
| 2015–16 | Miami | 34 | 0 | 11.6 | .364 | .277 | .676 | 1.1 | .7 | .4 | .1 | 3.4 |
| 2016–17 | Nebraska |  | ||||||||||
| 2017–18 | Nebraska | 33 | 33 | 31.0 | .444 | .309 | .738 | 4.4 | 3.0 | 1.0 | .5 | 17.2 |
| 2018–19 | Nebraska | 36 | 36 | 35.2 | .369 | .313 | .762 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 1.4 | .4 | 19.7 |
| Career | 141 | 74 | 22.6 | .398 | .315 | .742 | 2.7 | 1.8 | .7 | .3 | 10.9 | |
Personal life
Palmer was born in Washington, D.C. and is the son of Demetra McFadden and the late James Palmer, Sr. His father died on May 29, 2009. Palmer has one sister, Tijisha, and one brother, Tijree.
References
- "James Palmer Jr. Player Profile". Hurricanesports.com. 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
- Duber, Vinnie (May 17, 2016). "Huskers land Miami transfer guard James Palmer". NBC Sports. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
- Phillips, Scott (May 26, 2018). "Nebraska's James Palmer Jr. returning to school". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
- "Former Husker James Palmer reportedly joins Phoenix Suns summer league roster". News Channel Nebraska. June 27, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
- "Big Ten Unveils Men's Basketball Postseason Honors on BTN". BigTen.org. March 11, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- Phoenix Suns Announce 2019 Summer League Roster
- https://www.clipsnation.com/2019/10/4/20898679/l-a-clippers-2019-2020-player-previews-james-palmer
- https://www.latimes.com/sports/clippers/story/2019-10-21/clippers-sign-derrick-walton-to-add-depth-point-guard-nba
- Withey, Jake (November 10, 2019). "Free Throws Doom NAZ Suns In Season Opening Loss". Prescott eNews. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
- German, Jordan (April 8, 2020). "LA Clippers: Agua Caliente standouts of 2019-2020". Clipperholics. FanSided. Retrieved May 20, 2020.