University of Tennessee Athletics
Parker Proves Goals Are Meant To Be Reached
September 14, 2007 | Women's Basketball
By USA Basketball
New York -- Where Candace Parker goes, success follows. There's nothing coincidental about it. The versatile, 6-4 Tennessee junior once told her mom, "I'm going to win at the junior high, high school, college, WNBA and Olympic level," and at the age of 21, she's right on schedule.
The consensus national player of the year in both her junior and senior seasons at Naperville Central High School (Ill.), Parker made waves when she became the first female to win the Powerade Jam Fest during the 2004 McDonald's festivities and again when she opened Tennessee's 2006 NCAA Tournament run with two dunks versus Army, becoming the first female to dunk in an NCAA competition. She is quick to define the dunk as just a small part of her game, however, and the evidence is in her favor.
As a freshman, she led Tennessee in scoring and rebounding, with 17.3 ppg. and 8.3 rpg., and listed third in assists, with 2.9 per game. As a sophomore, she upped her averages to 19.7 ppg. and 9.9 rpg., while helping the Lady Vols secure the 2007 NCAA national championship, earning Final Four MVP honors along the way.
The best news about Parker though? You don't have to wait until November to see what's next. As a member of the 2007-08 USA Women's Senior National Team, Parker is competing for a spot on the official 12-member USA squad that will travel to Valdivia, Chile, Sept. 26-30 to compete in the FIBA Americas Championship, where the USA must finish first to earn a spot in the 2008 Olympics. Though the pool is talented and deep, Parker has proven she's up to the challenge.
As the youngest member of the 2006 USA Women's World Championship Team, Parker averaged a team second-best 6.1 rpg. and a third-best 12.3 ppg. She shot a team-high 58.3 percent from the field for the tournament as the USA rebounded from a semifinal loss to Russia with a 99-59 win over host Brazil to take home bronze.
Busy and focused, Parker took a few minutes to talk with USABasketball.com not only about where she came from, but where she plans to go.
When did you first pick up a basketball?
Basketball has always been in my family. My father played Big Ten ball at Iowa, so pretty much I had a basketball in my crib. I went to my first game when I was six weeks old to watch my brother play AAU basketball. I've always had a basketball in my hand. But competitively, I probably started playing in sixth and seventh grade.
Did you always love basketball?
I loved it, but I don't think to the same extent that obviously it is now. I played soccer a lot, I was a big soccer player, and then I played volleyball a lot. I wanted to do both volleyball and basketball, and then sophomore year (of high school) I gave up volleyball. And I've been doing just basketball ever since.
You come from an athletic family. Your father played college basketball, and your brother, Anthony Parker, plays for the NBA's Toronto Raptors. Who was the most influential growing up?
I think each one of them helped me in different ways. Obviously my mom was very instrumental in just making sure that I stayed positive. She didn't play basketball herself, but she played intramural at Iowa so she knows the game, and she's been around my father. My brothers helped in terms of just being competitive. I have two older brothers, and they were always playing one-on-one. Sometimes they would let me join in, and they would teach me things.
My dad was my coach ever since I was younger, and he's probably been the most instrumental in my development as a player. When I was younger everybody was like, "Why don't you just put her under the basket and get a layup every time?" But he wanted me to face up. He wanted me to run point guard. He wanted me to do things like that, and that versatility is a big part of my game now.
You first put on a USA jersey at the 2003 Youth Development Festival. Your team went 1-4, but you ranked first in blocked shots, second in rebounding and third in scoring. What do you remember about that experience?
It was really cool to just see where I was within the country and to see where the competition is and how everybody else was playing. It was a great experience. Obviously, I don't like to lose, but I learned from it. The way we were divided, North, South, East and West, the East was pretty tough. I wish we could have come away with more than one victory, but it was a good experience still.
You played in your first USA Basketball international competition as a member of the 2004 USA Junior World Championship Qualifying Team, along with Courtney Paris and Candice Wiggins, who are in training camp with you now. Did you see anything that led you to think you would all be where you are now?
I always had goals of being a part of USA Basketball. I was probably 16 or 17 when I started realizing that it was possible for me to make the national team, that it was possible if I continued to work hard to get there. Obviously that was a very special team, and we knew it. The way and the fashion in which we were beating teams there in Puerto Rico was amazing. We went to training camp, we trained really hard and it showed. We came away with the gold and a great experience.
Do you remember first having to adjust to the international game?
International basketball is a lot more physical I think, and I definitely saw that playing with USA Basketball in 2006. Everybody can shoot, from bigs to guards, and I think that adjustment in itself is huge. Compared to the game in the United States, it's just different. The post players are a lot more mobile, that's the greatest difference. It definitely took some time to get used to, but I think I've pretty much made the adjustment now.
You are well known as the first female ever to win the McDonald's All-American dunk contest as well as the first female to dunk in the NCAA. Where does the dunk fit into your game?
Well, I mean, it is a part, but it's not my game, it's just a part. It's more of an end result, not what I pattern my game around. There are so many more things that I can do, other than just dunk.
The next step would be taking your game above the rim in international competition, where playing the ball off the rim is legal. Have you done that? Is that a goal?
I think the goal is just to pursue the ball, whether it's on the rim or not. Making sure that I rebound, because that is what's important. That was really crucial at the World Championship in Brazil and it will be really important in Chile. Securing the ball, whether it's on the rim or not, that's my focus.
In 2006, you were the youngest member and only college player on the USA Basketball's World Championship Team, yet you were second-best in rebounding (6.1 rpg.) and third-best in scoring (12.3 ppg.). How did you approach that experience?
Well, I don't think the team treated me as such. At USA Basketball they talk about the team, nobody's higher, nobody's lower. We are a team, and we have common goal. They really helped me get better, really took me under their wings and showed me the ropes. I know Tina Thompson and Tamika Catchings were very instrumental in my development last year during training camp. Just showing me the little tricks of the trade that I wouldn't have known from playing in the U.S. that they know from playing overseas for years.
Even now in this training camp, you look to your left and there's three-time Olympian Dawn Staley and you look to your right and there's another three-time Olympian Ann Donovan, and I think it's just an amazing feeling knowing that they're here to help you get better.
Speaking of basketball in the states, you led Tennessee to the 2007 NCAA title. Obviously a goal accomplished for you. What did that feel like?
It was a huge accomplishment. You dream forever of winning a national championship. I know that when I was younger, I told my mom, "I'm going to win at the junior high, high school, college, WNBA and Olympic level." I always used to tell her that. So in order for that to happen, you have to win in college because you only have so many years. I was just really excited to bring the national championship back to Knoxville and Tennessee because I feel like there was a drought, and we deserved it.
Following that, you were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated...
That was amazing. I really was not expecting that at all. It was huge honor, and still is. Every time I see that, I remember the feeling when we won the national championship. It was just a great feeling, and it was just a great honor to be on the cover.
You also were named as one of People Magazine's "100 Most Beautiful People." What was that like?
That came as a shock. It was a great honor. I really had a lot of fun with the photo shoot. It was a professional photo shoot with makeup, and hair and wardrobe and all that stuff, so I really enjoyed that.
How do you handle something like that, which is really very different from the attention you receive on the court?
You know to be honest with you, I just try to not let it affect me, and I don't think it's really affected me at all. It's not pressure or anything like that. It is what it is, you know? I had a lot of fun with it. I really enjoyed it.
Shifting back to on-court stuff ... you're training in New York, vying for a spot on the 2007 USA squad that will compete in the FIBA Americas Championship. What's your focus?
Obviously our No. 1 goal is to qualify for the Olympics, and that's what we are all focused on. We can't think of Beijing right now, because in order to get there, we still have to qualify.
Is there any looking back to the 2006 semifinal loss to Russia that resulted in a bronze medal?
We realize now that we can't take nights off, and that's what I think we did against Russia. Russia came out and played some of the best basketball they had played, and we just didn't respond. I think from that, we are realizing that in order for us to be a great team, we can't take possessions off, and we can't take nights off.
You mentioned the Olympics are a lifelong dream of yours, but you also said the team isn't looking past the FIBA Americas Championship, so where do you put that goal in the meantime?
It's funny because I ran into this commercial on the Internet that was a commercial for 08/08/08, you know the Beijing Olympics, and I got chills. Just thinking about hopefully being there and how crazy it is to represent your country and to be considered one of the best athletes in your sport in the world. I am just really excited to help the USA qualify for that. I'm focused on Chile, but competing in the Olympics really is motivation. I am just excited to help my country and to help put USA Basketball back where it needs to be.
