David Palmer Joins Iowa's Men's Basketball Program

May 9, 2006

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

David Palmer, who played his freshman year at Seton Hall University this past season, has signed a letter of intent to transfer to the University of Iowa and join the Hawkeye men’s basketball program.

Palmer is a 6-9, 240-pound forward/center who will have three seasons of eligibility at Iowa after sitting out the 2006-07 season. Palmer is a native of Antioch, TN who attended Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, VA as a senior.

“We’re excited to add a player and person of David’s quality,” said Iowa Coach Steve Alford. “He has one year of Big East Conference experience, and he can learn our system and continue to grow and mature over the next year. He adds size to our incoming class and fits in very well with our previous commitments. With the addition of David, we continue to add athleticism as we build on our past success and strive to raise the bar on what we want to accomplish.”

Palmer played in 27 games at Seton Hall, averaging three points and two rebounds in 9.7 minutes per game. He had a season-high 11 points and seven rebounds in a win over Morgan State and added eight points in games vs. Villanova, North Carolina State and DePaul.

As a senior at Oak Hill, Palmer averaged 5.8 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 56% from the field as a part-time starter for a team that was ranked as the top team in the nation, according to USA Today.

Palmer played for three seasons at Antioch HS, averaging 14 points a game as a junior while playing only the final 10 games of the season after recovering from a broken ankle. He competed in the 2003 Nike Hoop Jamboree and the 2003 Nike All-American Camp.

Palmer joins forward Tyler Smith (6-7, 210) and guard Malik Perry (6-5, 225) as additions to the Iowa program this spring. During the fall signing period Iowa added Jamie Vanderbeken (6-10, 235) from Belleville, Ontario, Canada, Cyrus Tate (6-8, 240) from Northeast (NE) Community College and Justin Johnson (6-6, 190) from Tyler, TX Community College. Smith, Perry and Vanderbeken will be freshmen in 2006-07, Tate a sophomore and Johnson a junior.

Iowa’s incoming class is being recognized as one of the top 10 recruiting classes in the nation by some publications, including Hoop Scoop, which ranks the Iowa class ninth nationally.