Tennessee's Candace Parker does it all. She can shoot, she can pass, she can block, she can play with her back to the basket and on the periphery, and she can make any defender wish she hadn't gotten out of bed that morning.
Oh yeah, and she can dunk.
When the then-high school sophomore threw one down in a game at Naperville Central game in December 2001, she was the first girl in Illinois and only the second in the country to do so, the beginning of a long list of firsts for the Chicago native.
Two years later, she became the first female to win the McDonald All-American Game slam dunk contest, outshining at least two current NBA pros. She was also the first-ever repeat recipient of the Naismith High School Player of the Year award, repeating the honor her junior and senior years.
And now, finally in a Tennessee uniform after redshirting her freshman year with an injury, it looks like Parker, who has more weapons than defenses can count, let alone stop, may just lead the Tennessee Lady Vols to their first NCAA title in seven years.
Probably the most decorated female high school athlete ever, Parker has been touted as the LeBron James of women's hoops. The hype, while perhaps a bit overzealous, is not misplaced.
While the media frenzy surrounding her dunking ability has taken much of the spotlight, Parker's skills extend far beyond her 27.5-inch vertical. She is a 6'4" guard in a forward's body who can run the point, dominate the paint, and create shots at will, and with her "spread-the-wealth" attitude and keen court instinct, she simply makes everybody around her better.
Highly-recruited from the time she was in middle school (The Chicago Sun-Times ran an article highlighting her AAU stats in July 2000), Parker announced her commitment to Tennessee on ESPNews, another first in the women's game. But Parker's long-awaited debut was set back a year as she decided to redshirt her freshman season to rehab lingering effects from a torn ACL suffered the summer before her senior year.
Now healthier, stronger (she weighs in at 180, up from 160 when she got to Knoxville), and chomping at the bit, Parker is ready to do what people have been saying she'd do for years: change the game of women's basketball.
With the departure of 6'2" forward standout Shyra Ely, who is now playing with the WNBA's San Antonio Silver Stars, Parker was needed on the low post to compliment the talented guard play of senior Shanna Zolman. And she has delivered, averaging a double-double with 16.6 points and 10.0 rebounds and leading the team in rebounds in six of the Lady Vols' seven games so far this season. Her 15 assists, just short of the Zolman and backcourt teammate Alexis Hornbuckle, are a testament to her outstanding vision and on-court composure.
While her offensive power and explosiveness are no surprise, Parker has surprised many on the defensive end, nabbing 13 steals, second-highest on the team, and handing out a team-high 19 blocks. Having the wingspan the size of Montana probably doesn't hurt.
Parker entered Tennessee as part of coach Pat Summit's "Super Six," the 2003 recruiting class that was rated the best of its year and has been touted as the strongest group of incoming freshmen ever. Hornbuckle made the most immediate impact last season, starting in 21 games and averaging 8.6 ppg, and has upped both her minutes and her impact this season, putting up 10.9 ppg and 18 steals. With the return of Parker and the now-seasoned Nicky Anosike, the sophomore class will provide much of the team's firepower this season.
Under the direction of Summit, the Lady Vols have been one of college's most dominating forces, producing some of the game's best players in the past decade -- Tamika Catchings, Chamique Holdsclaw, Kara Lawson -- and winning five national titles between 1989 and 1998. But despite several No. 1 preseason rankings and repeated choruses of "this is the year," Tennessee hasn't taken home the NCAA hardware since 1998, when it capped off a 39-0 season with its third straight championship.
But the Lady Vols are off to a red-hot 7-0 start, facing one of the toughest fall schedules of any team and leaving no doubt about their strength. After four straight losses to SEC rival Texas, the Lady Vols broke the 100-point mark and handed the No. 16 Horns their sixth worse loss in school history, 102-61, on Dec. 1. Three days later, they ended twelfth-ranked Stanford's 23-game win streak with a 74-67 win on Dec. 4, a win that pushed them back to the No. 1 spot after flip-flopping with Duke in recent weeks.
Four titles in five years for the UConn Huskies have kept the Lady Vols outside looking in. But as the "Super Six" step up into their sophomore seasons, rallying behind the infusion of Parker's all-around power, look for the Lady Vols to back up their preseason ranking and bring home their first title in seven years.
