Headband Joe Palmer: How Colorado State basketball found a fan icon from the Division III ranks

The noise of more than 8,000 fans in a sold-out crowd rumbled down to the court.

They chanted the name Joe Palmer as the Colorado State men's basketball team beat rival Colorado.

“My little brother texted me during the game. He was here. He was like, ‘Dude, you made it,’ and that was the first text I saw,” Palmer said.

“I kind of looked around and the crowd was kind of chanting my name at one point and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what the heck is going on?’ ”

It’s a magical college basketball story.

Two years ago, Palmer was playing NCAA Division III basketball at Augsburg University in Minnesota. Now, he’s a key piece of top-15 CSU and an icon to the fans who fill Moby Arena.

“If you would have told me two years ago ‘Hey Joe, this is where you’re going to be and this is what’s happening,’ I would have been like, ‘You’re the biggest liar. You’re a liar,’ ” Palmer said with his ever-present smile on his face. “It’s crazy. You put your head down and you never know where you can go.”

It’s a remarkable set of circumstances, timing, work and a leap of faith that led Palmer to CSU.

Two years ago, he was lighting it up at Augsburg with 21 points and nine rebounds per game. Late in the season, people started asking if he would enter the transfer portal and move up in competition. He had never really considered it.

At the same time the Rams were coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance and awaiting the NBA draft decision of star David Roddy. That decision didn’t come until the end of May.

It left CSU with a hole in the roster to fill late in the transfer calendar. Well, Palmer entered the portal late. CSU’s staff is full of Minnesota connections and they found Palmer.

Division II to Division I is a common jump these days (CSU has found success with D2 transfers Chandler Jacobs, Patrick Cartier and Joel Scott) but two levels up? That’s much rarer.

“The tape is part of it. I think the secret sauce is to talk to as many people as you can to really try to find out what makes this young man tick," CSU coach Niko Medved said. "Does he have the intangibles and the character? Is he a fit for our program? Clearly, Joe was."

“You can pop on the film and you can see some of the shot-making and the talent. It can be hard when you’re going two levels up to look at the athleticism part, but I think a lot of that is talking to people, doing your research about a person as a young man.”

The late roster spot also meant a late arrival at CSU. Palmer missed almost all of CSU’s summer workouts and, especially given the leap in level, was swimming in the deep end a year ago.

Not only was the level of play and athleticism much higher, but he was given a whole new role. He was always a high-volume scorer and now had completely different responsibilities.

“It’s insane. Last year I was so lost. My head was spinning all the time learning the offense," Palmer said. "The hardest part was defense. I never really played defense much growing up, if I’m being honest."

“At Division III, I was so much more athletic than everyone I could kind of just rely on that. I got here and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, if I even want to sniff a minute I have to play defense.’ I really just hunkered down on the defensive end, got better.”

Still, as the Rams fought through a tough season, Palmer’s fanbase grew. Every game he seemed to make a big 3-pointer or dive into the crowd for a loose ball. Something to get the crowd going.

He started wearing a headband at Augsburg, in part so his grandma could pick him out on TV. It has led to the “Headband Joe” nickname from fans and a headband giveaway game is in the works.

Now he’s viral in the CSU space of the internet with fans simply commenting “Joe Palmer” on CSU posts.

But a fan-favorite move only goes so far if a player doesn’t perform. And Palmer is vital to the undefeated Rams, who host Saint Mary’s at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9.

He has been a spark-plug off the bench and is now starting with Josiah Strong and Jalen Lake injured. The 6-foot-4 Palmer is averaging 6.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and hitting 43% of his 3-pointers. He’s one of CSU’s top plus-minus players.

"You come back, you assess, you have the summer. He had a great offseason, now he’s come back and just really, really relishing his role," Medved said. "It’s been fun to watch."

Palmer grew up dreaming of being a Division I basketball player. He would fill out 20 March Madness brackets each season (he was obsessed with Xavier, he says) and now he’s right in the middle of the madness.

“I don’t take any of it for granted,” Palmer said. “I still pinch myself. I can’t believe I’m here sometimes, if I’m being honest. It’s pretty crazy.”

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on Twitter and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: How Colorado State basketball found fan-favorite Joe Palmer from Division III