It is one of the few weekends the rising basketball star has free in a hectic schedule culminating with a move to the US in August.

A scholarship holder at the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence in Canberra, Palmer was on Wednesday named in the Australian Gems under-19s side for a camp ahead of the World Cup in Thailand in July.

Next month she will lead the COE team in the newly formed NBL One competition, which replaces the South East Australian Basketball League.

In August, she heads to the USA to begin a basketball scholarship at the University of Texas.

In between training at the COE, Palmer is working part-time as a tour guide at the Australian Institute of Sport.

"It will be a tough five months. I have a lot of things to prepare for," Palmer said.

Palmer, who turned 18 on February 4, led NSW to the final of the national under-20s championship on Sunday, going down 77-64 to Victoria.

The point guard, who top-scored with 20 points in the decider, was awarded the Bob Staunton Medal for the most outstanding player after she averaged averaged 18.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists a game.

"We were one of the underdogs going into the nationals and a lot of teams underestimated our ability," the Hunters junior said.

Palmer is in her second year in Canberra. She completed high school last year and is now focused on preparing for the World Cup.

"We do four to five session a day, covering conditioning, gym, team and individual sessions," she said. "We also play as a team in the NBL One competition which starts next month. We play against teams mainly from Victoria as well as Tasmania and Albury."

There are seven players at the COE who are in the Gems squad, which goes into camp in Canberra from May 5-7. The Gems won bronze at the Asian under-18 championships last year.

"May is the first camp but the majority of the squad were in the 18s last year and there are a few new girls from the collegiate system in America," Palmer said.

Palmer will add to the Australians in the US in August.

The University of Texas, known as the Longhorns, have one of the strongest basketball programs in the US and are currently ranked 19^th in the women's division.

Palmer, who will be joined in Austin by Gem teammate Ashlee Hannan, visited the college before committing.

"Being there and watching their training sessions, the intensity is a whole new level," she said.

"It is really professional. I go over there wanting to play, that is the whole point of me going, but I also understand I will have a role in the team. There are girls who have been there three or four years, who have experience and size advantage over me. It will be take me a little bit of time."