Westtown freshman star Jordyn Palmer is taking her game international: ‘She has a chance to be that kid’

As nicknames go, it’s a shame that “The Answer” is already taken because it might fit Westtown School freshman forward Jordyn Palmer perfectly.

Just a year ago, Palmer was a 6-foot-1, eighth-grade phenom with skills so prodigious she made basketball seem like a test for which she already possessed the answers.

That begged the question: Would she still master the subject matter or just show up on game days with the gifts she was given?

Her freshman year seemed to reveal the answer.

Palmer, now 6-2, was named Pennsylvania’s Gatorade Player of the Year in March, while helping the Moose stampede to a fourth consecutive Friends School League crown and a third straight Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association title.

“Jordyn is the most dominant high school basketball player I’ve ever seen,” Shipley School coach Ellen Blair told Gatorade. “I felt that way even when she was an eighth-grader last year. Jordyn’s ability to impact the game in every way blows you away.”

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As if Palmer’s opponents didn’t have enough problems, new nightmares likely are on the horizon.

To expand her offensive versatility, Palmer’s focus this summer has been developing her perimeter skills.

Add that to the international experience she’ll earn on Team USA’s Under-17 squad, and next season, Palmer, now 15, could become a bigger problem with even fewer answers.

The 12-member U.S. team begins practice in early July in Colorado Springs ahead of the 2024 FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup in Irapuato and Leon, Mexico.

“Just being part of the USA Basketball program and seeing how they carry themselves, the responsibility that comes along with having USA on the front of your jersey,” Westtown coach Fran Burbidge said in a phone interview, “all of those things are ways to accelerate her maturity.”

Before she became a five-star recruit, Palmer was just a girl nobody wanted to pick at the Lighthouse Youth Center in Oxford, a borough in rural Pennsylvania about 60 miles from Philadelphia and about four miles from Lincoln University.

According to 2020 census data, Oxford’s population is less than 6,000, many of whom are proud to see Palmer’s promise.

“The biggest thing she brings is hope and inspiration,” said Brian Dorsey, 44, who played pickup basketball against Palmer when she was 9. “It’s such a small place, but when you have someone doing things at such a high level, it gives inspiration.”

Dorsey, who played high school basketball in Wilmington, has lived in Oxford nearly all his life and raised his three children there.

The tight-knit nature of the community is why Palmer donated grant money from her Gatorade award to the Lighthouse.

“This is where I grew up playing basketball with all my friends,” Palmer said after taking a break from a recent workout. “This is where I always came to hoop, so I definitely love giving back to the community.”

Those early days, however, weren’t always easy.

“I can still remember her coming home saying, ‘Mom, the boys didn’t want to pick me for their team today,’” said Palmer’s mom, Kim, via phone.

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But it didn’t take long for them to learn she could play.

Dorsey still remembers the long, left-handed outlet pass Palmer once threw after corralling a rebound, hitting a teammate in stride downcourt for a layup.

“That let me know right there,” he said, “that she was special.”

Palmer clearly has always had guard skills.

Being the biggest kid on most teams, however, often forced her to play down low, even though she’s been playing against older competition since third grade.

So focusing on perimeter play this summer won’t be new.

But after she averaged 17.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 4.2 blocks, and 3.2 steals last season mostly as a post-playing forward, you wouldn’t begrudge opponents their sleepless nights if Palmer adds a consistent jump shot and the ability to score and facilitate off the dribble.

“That’s why she has a chance to be that kid,” Burbidge said. “You guard her with bigs, she’ll go by you. Play off her, she’ll knock it down. Play her with small [players], she’ll post you up. It just becomes a nightmare where you’re not going to be able to guard her with one player.”

It helps that she seems to have a hunger for greatness.

“When you have a high-level player,” said Palmer’s trainer, Vinny Cattano, “they’ve typically gotten away with things for so long that they don’t always think they have to [focus on the details].”

Cattano, 49, is an assistant coach on Philly Rise, Palmer’s AAU team, and an assistant at Westtown.

“Jordyn is the type of kid who is not satisfied,” Cattano said. “She’s going to keep pushing. So to me, the biggest thing is not burning her out, but also keeping her on the right path.”

Burbidge recognizes Palmer’s path.

During his four-decade career, he’s coached basketball greats Elena Delle Donne and Breanna Stewart, among others.

Experience tells him the path isn’t a race — or at least it’s not a sprint.

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“The basketball part … will take care of itself,” Burbidge said. “The intangibles will separate the good from the great. In my opinion, I think Jordyn is on the right path and the right journey.”

Burbidge also shepherds other ultra-talented Westtown players such as Jessie Moses, a four-star point guard.

Even Westtown boys’ coach Seth Berger has provided sage counsel to the Palmer family.

“They’ve been super supportive,” said Palmer’s dad, Jermaine. “They’re helping just as much as us as parents.”

That has been especially comforting during Palmer’s freshman year, her first living at Westtown. She commuted to the private boarding school as an eighth grader.

The Palmers, however, haven’t just been along for the ride. About two years ago, Jermaine and Kim realized Jordyn had been playing basketball nearly year-round.

They’ve since built a few guardrails.

Palmer typically doesn’t speak with college coaches when she travels.

With help from Burbidge, the Palmers also decide when she needs a break from recruiting. She also doesn’t touch a basketball in August.

“That’s the biggest thing that I’ve picked up the past couple of years,” Jermaine said. “You just can’t go, go, go. Your body has to rest, reset. It has to charge.”

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Something similar likely applies to all the attention Palmer receives.

At recent AAU events, Jermaine said young kids ask to take photos with his daughter. Even some players her own age, including opponents, ask for photos.

Kim and Jermaine agree Jordyn handles the publicity and fanfare graciously and humbly. They’ve also noticed that she has become less reserved and more talkative.

Still, their focus is on her enjoying childhood.

“I’m always concerned about her mental health,” Kim said.

“‘Are you happy? How are you doing?’ Because she’s still just a 15-year-old girl. It’s difficult to be a teenager. I really just try to go out of my way to find out what’s going on with her other than basketball. When she’s home with me, she’s just my daughter. She’s treated just like the rest of the kids. You have to take the trash out. She has a goal and she has to work really hard to get there, but at the same time, basketball will never be more important than schoolwork.”