The UCLA men’s basketball program has hired Rod Palmer as an assistant coach, as announced Thursday by Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach.
Palmer has spent the past 25 seasons working in college and high school basketball. He was an assistant coach at San Diego State during the 2018-19 season after an 11-year stint on the coaching staff at Long Beach State. Prior to his time at Long Beach State, Palmer served as the head coach at Centennial High School in Compton for nine seasons and at Compton High School for four seasons.
“I am grateful to Coach Cronin and to UCLA’s athletic department for this incredible opportunity,” Palmer said. “For me personally, returning to UCLA after having attended the university over 30 years ago is an absolute thrill. This is a world-renowned institution with a remarkable tradition. I still remember our UCLA team in 1987 winning the Pac-10 title and the first-ever Pac-10 Tournament, hosted in Pauley Pavilion. Returning as a coach, I want to help Coach Cronin and the Bruins’ program to build upon that incredible winning tradition.”
Last season, Palmer helped San Diego State compile a 21-13 overall record and an 11-7 mark in the Mountain West Conference. During his previous 11 seasons at Long Beach State (2007-08 through 2017-18), Palmer guided the 49ers to one NCAA Tournament berth (2012) and to three appearances in the NIT (2011, 2013 and 2016). In addition, Long Beach State claimed three Big West Conference regular-season titles (2011, 2012 and 2013). The 49ers registered a Big West record of 114-64 during his 11 seasons at Long Beach State.
“I am thrilled to add Rod to our coaching staff,” Cronin said. “We met nearly 20 years ago when I was recruiting in Los Angeles, and I quickly learned that he’s a great coach. Coach Palmer comes highly recommended from his peers and has the most important quality that I seek in coaches – that he cares about his players. He is someone I have had in mind throughout this process because of his strong ties within Southern California. He knows what a special place UCLA is, and he’s extremely excited to be back in Westwood.”
Prior to his time at Long Beach State, Palmer spent nine seasons as head coach at Centennial High School (1998-2007). While at Centennial, he coached future UCLA standout guard Arron Afflalo, who had a strong three-year career for the Bruins before being drafted No. 27 overall in the 2007 NBA Draft (Detroit Pistons). Afflalo helped lead UCLA to back-to-back NCAA Final Four appearances in 2006 and 2007, during his sophomore and junior seasons.
Palmer’s 2004 squad at Centennial won the CIF Division III state championship, and his 2002 team was a state finalist. Centennial also secured the 2006 CIF Division III-A championship under Palmer’s tutelage. He served as head coach at Compton High School from 1993-97.
Hailing from Los Angeles, Palmer prepped at Dominguez High School and was a two-time All-CIF guard before earning a scholarship to UCLA. He competed for the Bruins for two seasons, playing in 46 games from 1985-87, before transferring to UC Irvine. Palmer earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from UC Irvine in 1990.
Palmer and his wife, Sherell, have two daughters (Erin, Shevae) and one son (Joshua).
https://uclabruins.com/news/2019/5/2/rod-palmer-named-ucla-mens-basketball-assistant-coach.aspx
