Senior signs letter with Southern Arkansas College
While a high school basketball career is nearing a close for Sallisaw Lady Diamonds senior guard Hannah Palmer, she made sure a new basketball career would be next.
Palmer signed a letter of intent with Southern Arkansas College, located in El Dorado, Ark., during a signing ceremony Wednesday morning at Paul Post Field House.
Two big things influenced Palmer to want to sign with the Stars — the courses available in her desired major and essentially being promised a spot in the starting line-up.
“It’s mostly because it has my major, radiography,” Palmer said. “Then, I was also kind of promised a spot as point guard on the team. And, obviously, there’s the money (scholarship). It’s not a lot, but it’s all going to be really good for me.”
While there were other offers on the table, getting the almost 100-percent word from Southern Arkansas College women’s basketball coach John Thomas Ryan that she would be in the starting line-up was pretty much the thing that swayed Palmer to sign with the Stars.
“I was promised like a couple of starting spots,” said Palmer, who was named to “VYPE” Magazine’s Top 100 Girls High School Players to Watch List for this season. “He was pretty serious about it, and I’ll get to have my No. 5 like I have in my high school games. It was really nice — it was very nice. It’s just a great deal.”
“To watch her growth from her sophomore year to her senior year, and the things she’s doing as a leader this year — especially scoring — I’ve seen so much growth in her, and when she takes that to the next level she will really be able to help that program and make them better for sure,” said Sallisaw Lady Diamonds assistant coach Eric Carr, who was Palmer’s head coach her sophomore and junior seasons before turning over that duty to current coach Greg Pratt.
Palmer was very happy when putting her “John Hancock” on the dotted line on her letter of intent turned her dream of playing college basketball into a soon-to-be reality.
“Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been wanting to play (basketball),” said Palmer, who made the First United Bank Classic’s All-Tournament Team last week at Bethel High School. “I actually lost a little hope because I’ve been playing AAU (Amateur Athletic Union basketball) all summer every year. This past summer going into my senior year, I didn’t play much (basketball) in summer ball, so I had doubts. Then, I started playing, and I got my confidence back. Coaches started reaching out to me. Once I got my first offer, they all started coming in.”
“I know this (playing college basketball) has been a big dream of hers — to play at the next level,” Carr said. “She has put in a lot of time through the summers — extra time and training. She’s been committed to what we’ve been doing here at Sallisaw. I’m super proud of her to get this opportunity to go on and take her talents to the next level.”
The Sallisaw senior isn’t concerned with the miles between the River Valley and southern Arkansas.
“It’s about 4.5 hours away,” Palmer said. “I actually wanted to stay very close, but all the colleges that gave me offers were like fourplus hours away. I’m going to be in the dorms there. The dorms are brand new. I’ll be one of the first ones to be in one.”
The fact that Southern Arkansas College will allow Palmer to do two things she loves makes it all seem right.
“I love basketball,” she said. “I can not wait to play (college basketball) and get to do what I love, something in the medical field.”
