University of South Carolina Upstate

High School: A standout post player atSouthwest Christian High School for head coach Austin Dyck... namedone of the Top 40 Prospects in Minnesota by Rivals.com, coming inat No. 24... a three-year letterman and two-year starter afterbeing moved to the Stars'' varsity squad as a sophomore... served asa reserve player as a sophomore... averaged 2.8 points and 1.3rebounds per game... had a breakout year as a junior with theStars... the team leader... averaged a double-double with 15.8points and 10.3 rebounds per game... led Southwest Christian to a17-11 record... led the Stars to a second-place finish in theMinnesota Christian Athletic Association with an 8-2 record...finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, four blocked shots andthree steals to lead Southwest Christian to a 45-42 victory overMaranatha in the championship game of the conference tournament...the win marked the Stars'' first-ever conference tournamentchampionship in school history... prior to last season, SouthwestChristian''s best finish in the conference tournament was thirdplace... Maranatha entered the game undefeated and ranked No. 1 inthe state in Class A... helped the team advance to thesub-sectional finals before losing to Maranatha to end theseason... led the Stars to a second-place finish in the conferenceas a senior... Southwest Christian finished the year with a 20-7overall record and a 10-3 mark in the league... averaged 20.4points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game... led the Stars totheir first ever appearance in the sectionals of the statetournament... averaged 19 points and 15 rebounds per game in thestate tournament... earned first team all-conference honors... anhonorable mention all-state pick... a member of the MinnesotaAll-Star team... the team MVP... helped lead the Starts to a 56-27record in three years on the varsity squad... a first teamall-conference selection after leading the league with 4.6 blockedshots per game as a junior, nearly a full three blocks better thanhis closest competitor... also ranked second in the league inrebounding... averaged 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game... ownsthe single-season school record for blocks in a season with 49 as ajunior... played AAU ball for the Minnesota Magic.

Personal: Born on Jan. 20, 1991 inMinneapolis, Minn... son of Thomas and Brenda Palkert... has threesisters, Emily, Lydia and Abby... has not decided on a major...hobbies include playing basketball, fishing and playing videogames... likes eating everything... favorite season is summer...favorite sports figure is LeBron James... his dad was his herogrowing up.