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Candace Parker

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Candace Parker
Los Angeles Sparks
PositionForward/Center/Guard
Personal information
Born (1986-04-19) April 19, 1986 (age 38)
St. Louis, Missouri
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight172 lb (78 kg)
Career information
High schoolNaperville Central HS,
Naperville, Illinois
CollegeTennessee
NBA draft2008: 1st overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Sparks
Playing career2008–present
Career highlights and awards
USA Today High School Player of the Year (2003, 2004)
Naismith Prep Player of the Year (2003, 2004)
Gatorade High School Player of the Year (2003, 2004)
Wade Trophy winner (2007)
USBWA Player of the Year (2007)
Other Awards
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an All American basketball player for the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks. She was drafted to the team from Tennessee in 2008. She may be best known for being the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game and the first woman to dunk twice in a college game — she set both milestones as a redshirt freshman on March 19, 2006.[1][2]

A uniquely versatile player, she is mainly a forward, but was listed on Tennessee's roster as a forward, center, and guard.[3] She was a starter on the Lady Vols Basketball team, winners of the 2007 and 2008 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.

Parker's brother Anthony Parker plays for the NBA's Toronto Raptors. Candace Parker announced engagement to Shelden Williams, who was a college basketball star with Duke University 2002-2006. Currently, he plays for the Sacramento Kings in the NBA.[4]

Playing career

High school

Like her elder brother Anthony, Parker attended Naperville Central High School in Naperville, Illinois and graduated in 2004. While in high school, Parker led her basketball team to state titles in 2003 and 2004 and amassed numerous accolades.

She is the only two time award winner of the USA Today Player of the Year, winning the award in 2003 and 2004. Parker won the Naismith and Gatorade Awards as national basketball player of the year during her junior and senior years. She won the Gatorade award again in her senior year to join only Marion Jones and LeBron James as the only back to back winners.

She was a consensus pick as player of the year in Illinois in 2002, 2003, and 2004. A four year member of the All-State first team, Parker compiled a school-record 2,768 points (22.9 points per game) and 1,592 rebounds (13.2 rebounds per game), while starting 119 of the 121 games in which she played. She also became the first women's player to announce her NCAA women's basketball verbal commitment live on ESPNEWS.

The summer after her junior year in high school, Parker tore her ACL in her left knee in a summer league game. She returned in December of her senior year and went on to lead her school to its second consecutive state title.

In August of 2004, the "CP-3"s, Team USA roommates Candace Parker and Courtney Paris, led the undefeated USA Junior World Championship team to a Gold medal with 16.6 ppg, 8.8 rpg and 15.8 ppg, 9.0 rpg respectively. While training, Parker had a relapse of knee pain and was required to undergo surgery in her lateral meniscus and the lateral articular cartilage in her left knee.

Slam Dunk contest

Parker made sports history in March 2004 by winning the Slam Dunk contest of the McDonald's High School All-American Game in Oklahoma City[citation needed]. Only a 17-year-old high school senior, Parker beat five male competitors for the prestigious title, including future 2005 NBA Slam Dunk contestant JR Smith and champion Josh Smith. The competition had been won in the past years by Vince Carter, David Lee and LeBron James.

College years

Parker attended the University of Tennessee. She took a medical redshirt her freshman year of college, and started for the Tennessee Lady Vols during the 2005-06 season. She was the Southeastern Conference Rookie of the Year (Coaches and AP) and helped the Lady Vols win the 2006 SEC Tournament Championship. With 17 seconds remaining in the 2006 SEC Tournament Championship Game against LSU, Parker hit the game-winning shot. She was named Tournament MVP, and was named to the 2006 Kodak All-America team, making her one of the few to ever receive the award as a freshman. However, in the NCAA Tournament regional finals against North Carolina, Parker got in early foul trouble and was out of the game for much of the first half. The University of North Carolina ultimately won the game

Candace Parker was the only college player named to the USA squad for the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women in Brazil.

On January 28, 2007, in an away game against Alabama, Parker scored her 1,000th career point as a sophomore making her the fastest player in Lady Vol history to do so. She did it in 56 games, besting Chamique Holdsclaw's mark of 57 games and Tamika Catchings's of 58 games. On March 1, at the SEC tournament in Duluth, Georgia, Parker was named the 2007 SEC Player of the Year. On April 3, she led the Lady Vols to their first National Championship victory since 1998 with 17 points, and earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Player honor.

Parker shooting over LSU's Sylvia Fowles in the 2008 NCAA Tournament National Semi-Final game.

Parker announced on February 21, 2008 that she would forego her final season of eligibility at Tennessee in order to focus on the 2008 Olympics and pursue a professional career. She is on schedule to graduate with her incoming class in May 2008.[5] A sports management major who had a 3.35 grade point average as of December 2007, she was named University Division Academic All-American of the Year in women's basketball for 2008 by the College Sports Information Directors of America.[6]

On April 8, 2008, Parker led the Lady Vols to their second straight NCAA women's title, the eighth championship for Tennessee. She was also named the MOP for the second consecutive tournament, joining Cheryl Miller, Chamique Holdsclaw and Diana Taurasi as the only female players to have done so. She won the honor despite suffering a separated shoulder during her team's regional finals win, but returned (wearing a long-sleeve T-shirt under her jersey) and led the Lady Vols to the title.

WNBA

Just after the NCAA victory, Parker was selected as the first pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. She will play alongside Lisa Leslie and former Tennessee teammate Sidney Spencer. Shannon Bobbitt (Parker's teammate at Tennessee) will also be joining the Sparks after being drafted in the second round. [7]

On May 17, 2008, in her debut game against the Phoenix Mercury, she recorded 34 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. Her 34 points broke the record for a rookie in a debut game. The record was previously held by Cynthia Cooper, who scored 25 points in her debut game in 1997.[8]

Awards

High School

  • All-Area Team (2001-2004: Chicago Sun Times, News-Gazette and Chicago Tribune)[9]
  • All-State Team (2001-2004: AP, Chicago Sun Times, News-Gazette and Chicago Tribune, IBCA)[9]
  • Gatorade Illinois State Player of the Year (2002-2004)[9]
  • Illinois Miss Basketball (2002-2004)[9]
  • Illinois State Player of the Year (2002-2004: Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, Daily Herald, Naperville Sun and Champaign Gazette)[9]
  • First Team All-American (2002-2004: Nike, 2000-2004: Parade, Street & Smith's, USA Today, 2004: McDonald's)[9]
  • Second Team All-American (2002: Parade, Student Sports)[9]
  • Third Team All-American (2002: USA Today)[9]
  • Fourth Team All-American (2002: Street & Smith's)[9]
  • Naismith Prep Player of the Year (2003-2004)[9]
  • USA Today High School Player of the Year (2003-2004)[9]
  • 2004 Powerade Jam Fest Winner[9]
  • Gatorade High School Player of the Year (2003-2004)[9]
  • 2004 Women's Sports Foundation High School Athlete of the Year[9]

College

  • 2006 NCAA Cleveland Regional All-Region Team[9]
  • 2006 SEC Tournament MVP[9]
  • 2006 SEC Freshman of the Year[9]
  • 2006 All-SEC First Team[9]
  • 2006 All-SEC Freshman Team[9]
  • 2006 SEC Freshman of the Week (12/5, 12/19, 1/10, 1/16)[9]
  • 2006 SEC Player of the Week (1/16)[9]
  • 2006 Lady Vol Athlete of the Week (11/28, 1/16)[9]
  • 2006 Lady Vol Athlete of the Month (January)[9]
  • 2006 AP Second Team All-American[9]
  • 2006 Kodak All-American[9]
  • 2007 SEC Player of the Week (2/12,[10] 3/1)
  • 2007 SEC Player of the Year[11]
  • 2007 First Team All-SEC[11]
  • 2007 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament - Dayton Regional Most Outstanding Player.[12]
  • 2007 1st Team All-American (AP,[13] Kodak,[14] John R. Wooden[15])
  • 2007 Wade Trophy Winner[16]
  • 2007 USBWA Player of the Year[17]
  • 2007 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player[18]
  • 2007 John R. Wooden Award Winner [18]
  • 2007 Basketball Honda Sports Award Winner[18]
  • 2008 Academic All-America of the Year, University Division[6]
  • 2008 Associated Press Player of the Year [19]
  • 2008 Naismith Trophy Winner [20]
  • 2008 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player
  • 2008 John R. Wooden Award winner.
  • 2008 Basketball Honda Sports Award Winner
  • 2008 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament - Oklahoma City Region Most Outstanding Player
  • 2008 ESPN.com Player of the Year [21]

In the first verse of "Starter" on the Wu-Tang Clan's 8 Diagrams album, Streetlife raps about his admiration for Parker, who can "take flight like Skywalker." He mentions many of her accolades like her 4.0 GPA as a student-athlete and her "McDonald's classic no-look dunk through the basket."

References

  1. ^ Thomsen, Ian (2007-03-22), "Will she or won't she?", Sports Illustrated, retrieved 2007-03-28 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); More than one of |work= and |magazine= specified (help)
  2. ^ Gutierrez, Melody (2007-04-02), "College stars boost WNBA draft suspense", The Sacramento Bee, retrieved 2007-04-04 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  3. ^ "2006-07 Lady Vols Roster". Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  4. ^ "Lady Vol Candace Parker announces engagement". Retrieved 2007-05-09.
  5. ^ "Parker to pursue Olympics and pro career" (Press release). University of Tennessee Women's Athletic Department. 2008-02-21. Retrieved 2008-03-03. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ a b College Sports Information Directors of America (2008-02-26). "Parker is Academic All-American of the Year". University of Tennessee Women's Athletic Department. Retrieved 2008-03-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ Jeré Longman, with The AP (2008-04-09). "Summitt wins again when it matters". iht.com. Retrieved 2008-04-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Bagnato, Andrew (2008-05-17). "Parker scores 34, the most ever in a WNBA debut". Associated Press. Google. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y ""Player Bio - Candace Parker"". Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  10. ^ "CANDACE PARKER NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK". Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  11. ^ a b "2007 SEC Women's Basketball Awards Announced". Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  12. ^ "Parker, Tennessee thrash Ole Miss to reach Final Four". Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  13. ^ "Paris, Latta head All-America squad". Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  14. ^ "Candace Parker named Kodak All-American". Retrieved 2007-03-31.
  15. ^ "Candace Parker named John R. Wooden All-American". Retrieved 2007-04-04.
  16. ^ "All CP3 All The Time". Retrieved 2007-03-31.
  17. ^ "Parker named to USBWA Player of the Year". Retrieved 2007-03-31.
  18. ^ a b c "CANDACE PARKER NAMED 2006-07 HONDA AWARD WINNER". {{cite web}}: Text "2007-04-17" ignored (help)
  19. ^ "Candace Parker named AP Player of the Year". AP. 2008-05-04. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
  20. ^ "Candace Parker named Naismith Player of the Year". ESPN. 2008-07-04. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  21. ^ "Parker wins second straight John Wooden Award". Retrieved 2008-04-12.
Template:S-awards
Preceded by Wade Trophy winner
2007 		Succeeded by
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