Nebraska Basketball: James Palmer Jr. has golden opportunity
The Nebraska Basketball alum has a chance to showcase his talents .
A former Nebraska Basketball star is aiming to take his talents to the next level. James Palmer Jr., who had a great career at Nebraska, is headed to the NBA G League Elite Camp. He was one of 30 players selected to participate.
Palmer had a tremendous senior campaign last season. He averaged 19.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and three assists. He was third in the Big Ten in scoring. He was tops in Nebraska Basketball history, as he set single-season records for points (708) and minutes played (1,269) among other categories. He truly carried Nebraska Basketball on his back in certain parts of the season, particularly during the rough patch that we saw during the beginning of second semester.
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For his efforts last year, he was a third-team All-Big Ten selection concluding what was a tremendous career. He scored 18.5 points per contest over the course of two seasons in Lincoln, bewildering defenders with his drive to the basket and his crafty handling of the basketball. Now, he will have the opportunity to see if he can take his talents to the next level. Due to his competitive nature and his ability to get to the rim at will, I think he can. Particularly with the NBA calling an incredible amount of fouls on drives to the basket, he has a chance to succeed in a big way.
I am excited to see what he can do. I think he can make some noise in the camp. His game is very NBAz-friendly. He can beat defenders in multiple ways, and also has shown a knack for putting the ball in the basket. Although defense is important in today’s NBA game, offense often rules the day. He is very difficult to defend on the drive, and has proven to be a decent three-point shooter. Last year, he recorded the highest three-point field goal percentage of his career with a 31.3 three-point field goal percentage.
He is going to the professional ranks at a time when his personal stock may never be higher. The fact that he was a senior and the fact that he played his best basketball last year are two welcome developments for him. The leadership he showed for Nebraska Basketball should also translate well to the NBA. He has a lot of things going for him right now, and I certainly hope he succeeds. He was a big reason why Nebraska basketball went as far as it did in the Big 10 tournament, and hopefully he can be that same X-factor to an NBA team.