CHS grad finds home in Texas

PALMER — John Palmer probably could have stayed in his home state to play college basketball. But the 2010 Colony High School graduate and former Knights standout wanted to experience life outside of Alaska. And as it turns out, Palmer will get the best of both worlds. His new home will have a distinct Alaska feel.

Earlier this summer, Palmer signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Texas A&M International and play for a Dustdevils program coached by former UAA assistant and Alaska native Shane Rinner.

“It should be a good experience to get out of state. It’s one of the main things I was looking for. I wanted to experience the whole being away from family thing,” Palmer said recently.

Palmer will be playing in the Lone Star State, but will remain connected with others from the Last Frontier. Rinner, a standout at Anchorage Christian School as a prep, has four assistants with ties to Alaska. Nome-Beltz standout Jeremy Head also joins Palmer in the Dustdevils’ 2010 recruiting class.

“It should be nice. I’ll have someone I can relate to when I’m feeling homesick,” Palmer said.

Rinner has kept a close eye on Palmer since the four-year starter cracked the lineup as a freshman with the Knights.

“We’ve liked John since he was a freshman,” Rinner said earlier this summer. “We’ve watched him grow up as a person and a basketball player.”

After breaking into the starting lineup early in his freshman season, Palmer grew to become one of the top guards in the state. The 5-foot-10 point guard is the two-time defending Northern Lights Conference Player of the Year. He averaged 17 points, four assists and three rebounds as a senior, en route to earning first-team all-state honors. Palmer helped Colony advance to three NLC championship games in four years, one 4A state title game and led the Knights to the 2008 NLC championship.

Those who have been around Palmer know it’s no accident that he and his team have seen that much success.

“The No. 1 thing that stands out is his character and ability to lead,” Rinner said. “He’s a proven winner.”

Rinner said he’s impressed with Palmer’s intangibles, his basketball I.Q. and toughness. These are things that have also impressed Palmer’s coaches at Colony for years.

“He works so hard. He’s skilled and has a very high basketball I.Q.,” Colony head coach Tom Berg said.

Berg said maybe the greatest thing about Palmer is he’s a player who maximizes his potential.

“John Palmer is going to be as good as John Palmer can be,” Berg said. “He will do everything he can.”

Berg said he foresees a bright future for Palmer and Rinner agrees.

“There’s no doubt he can definitely play at our level and have a lot of success,” Rinner said.

Rinner had the chance to see Palmer play during the 2010 ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Basketball Championships where the Colony senior helped lead the Knights to a third-place finish.

“At the state tournament, out of all of the Alaska kids, I thought he was the most ready to play college basketball,” Rinner said.

Just how much playing time Palmer will receive as a freshman, depends on Palmer, Rinner said. Regardless, Rinner said the Dustdevils are looking at Palmer as their point guard of the future.

Palmer said he hopes to see action as a freshman, and that certainly played a role in his decision to head to Texas.

“I didn’t want to not play at all during my freshman year,” Palmer said. “Basically they have their point guard set, but I could become their back-up point guard and earn between eight and 15 minutes a game. That would be perfect for me.”

Palmer said basketball has always played a big role in his life. Even though he’s been a starter since his freshman year at Colony, it wasn’t until after his sophomore year when he seriously began to consider basketball behind the high school ranks.

“People get college paid for it, so I thought why not give it a try,” Palmer said.

Palmer said he considered UAA, a program that had consistently followed him, early in the process. He also visited a number of community colleges in the Pacific Northwest, but preferred to attend a four-year university. TAMIU became an option when Rinner began courting Palmer early during Palmer’s senior year.

“At first I thought there’s no way I’d want to go to Texas, it’s too far away,” Palmer said. “But I got more used to the idea of going away. I visited and liked it and thought I might as well give it a shot.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.