It's a long road from Hanover to Sydney. For Crawford Palmer '93, it's been winding too.
The 6' 10" center Palmer began his hoop dream journey as a part of three Final Four teams at Duke University, including the championship '91-'92 squad, before he transferred to Dartmouth for a final two years.
But the highlights in college don't compare to his performance since graduation. Palmer has gone on to prove himself in European basketball leagues through seven years of professional play.
His most recent achievement was earning a spot on the French National team to play in this year's Summer Olympics.
Palmer, a McDonald's All-American in high school, was a top prospect and was given a full scholarship by perennial NCAA contender Duke. Crawford had hoped to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Walter Palmer '90, who had stints in the NBA with both the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks. But at Duke, the younger Palmer was forced to play as back-up to current NBA star Christian Laettner.
Palmer went along for the ride though, watching his team make three consecutive Final Fours and earn an NCAA championship. Playing on a team of such talent has its drawbacks though, and for Crawford those came in court minutes. He averaged only 8.2 minutes per game while steadily increasing his points per game average from 1.3 to 3.6 by his junior year.
The Belmont, Mass. native had seen enough of the game from the sidelines, and felt as though college was passing him by. Faced with the reality of either a fourth year at Duke, taking summer courses and graduating early or transferring, Palmer looked to Dartmouth, where his brother, father and grandfather had gone to college.
So, Palmer transferred to Dartmouth, and took a step back , entering as a junior due to Dartmouth's transfer requirements. He sat out his first year for the Big Green, but made his presence known during his senior season. As a tri-captain in '92-'93 he made all 26 starts and led the team with 16.5 points per game and 7.9 rebounds per game.
After a tough break at the NBA's Portsmouth, Va., tryout, Palmer was running out of options until he heard one vague description of a third tier basketball team in Fos-sur-Mer, France.
Palmer would go on to play four seasons in France, gaining experience and recognition that would help him to move up the rungs to second division Bourg-en-Bresse, where he would play two more seasons.
After marrying a former French national team star, Palmer gained dual citizenship in 1997 and was eligible to play throughout Europe.
This gave him the opportunity to sign a more lucrative contract with the Badalona club team, just outside Barcelona, Spain, which had also taken the 1994 European championship.
Happily married with a 3-year-old daughter and a starting spot on a top European team, things couldn't have looked better, until he got the call to play on the French Olympic Team.
Though Palmer had described ball in France as "Ivy caliber," Olympic ball was definitely a step up. He made a trip with the team to Sydney for a summer tournament. The 30-year-old Palmer was able to earn himself a spot as the big man off the bench behind 7-foot Knicks' draft pick Frederic Weis.
In five Olympic games -- France is 2-3 sitting in fourth place in their division -- Palmer has contributed with 21 points in 49 minutes of play, including coming off the bench against the U.S. to score eight points and pull down three rebounds in seven minutes.
