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player ready...Candace Parker served notice early we were in for something special.
She was all of eight seconds into her high school basketball career in November 2000 when she scored her first points for Naperville Central. Even in her debut, she dominated play on both ends of the court.
In December 2001, the then-sophomore produced the first dunk in an Illinois girls high school game. By then she was already signing autographs.
Last season she scored 32 points and delivered a three-point shot that forced overtime in undefeated Naperville Central’s memorable 63-59 victory over Fenwick. She was a consensus pick as national player of the year.
Then, because every great story demands adversity, Parker tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in a game last July. The injury forced her to miss the first 11 games of this season.
Saturday night Parker’s high school career finally ended, more than 2,700 points later and about where you figured it would, in the championship game of the Class AA state tournament at Illinois State University.
The logical conclusion, of course, would be Naperville Central’s second straight title. Parker, of course, delivered it, scoring 29 points and blocking eight shots in her team’s 48-37 victory over New Trier.
It’s a bit of a cliche to say we won’t see her like again, but we probably won’t. She is, after all, a 6-foot-4-inch player who would be above average were she 5-4.
“She can handle the ball, is athletic, can shoot, can drive,” said Loyola Academy coach Tanya Johnson, whose teams won Class AA state titles in 1997 and 1998. “I don’t know who can stop her. One person can’t; I don’t know if two people can.”
Parker has pulled off some rare feats, but her most notable achievement is that she has transcended her sport. Her announcement that she will play for Tennessee was nationally televised, and even the New York Times did a major story on her this season.
She lifted her sport to a new level of visibility, particularly among kids.
“It’s fun to see all the young girls come to high school games to see Candace Parker play,” said former Glenbrook South coach Howard Romanek, whose 1994 South team won the Class AA crown. “It will be great to see the effect on the next generation.”
The degree of Parker’s skill as well as the expectations that surround her are both so high that she can score 35 points and grab 17 rebounds, as she did in Central’s surprisingly close 61-53 quarterfinal victory over Peoria Richwoods on Friday, and seem to have played just average. She struggled at the free-throw line, hitting just seven of 15 attempts, and labeled that result “ridiculous.”
In the first three minutes of Central’s 56-44 semifinal victory over Marian Catholic on Saturday, though, Parker displayed the full array of her skills, not the least of which is her fierce will to win. She scored on a short jumper 13 seconds into the game, then grabbed a rebound and led the break, feeding Rachel Crissy for a layup.
Parker blocked a shot and scored on another jumper, and finished her spurt by grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring on a driving finger roll that was half ballet while being fouled. The free throw made the score 9-0.
Much of the rest of the game turned into a grinding physical struggle, though, and Parker finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
In the championship game Parker almost single-handedly dominated a tough, proud New Trier team that survived a grueling route to the final behind standout guards Deirdre Naughton, Maddie Johnson and Celia Franklin and a suffocating defense.
“They are so tough and so tenacious,” New Trier coach Teri Rodgers said of her guard triumvirate. “They all have great intangibles you just don’t teach–to keep playing as hard as you can until you can’t play any more.”
Against Naperville Central (33-2), though, the three made just seven of 34 shots, in part because of Parker’s intimidating presence.
With four starters back from a 35-0 team, including the greatest girls player in state history, Naperville Central figured to cruise to another Class AA title, but the road wasn’t as smooth as expected, thanks in part to Parker’s early season absence.
“Last year was magical fun. This year was hard work and a struggle,” Central coach Andy Nussbaum said of his team’s two titles. “But you love them the same.”
Parker would no doubt agree, though she clearly found title No. 2 particularly satisfying.
“This made it more special because last year everyone said we had it easy, with no injuries and things,” she said. “This year we had injuries and adversity, and we battled through it and battled back.”
The impetus for the two state crowns, she said, was missing out on the Elite Eight her first two seasons.
“We were sick of losing,” she said. “We all came together and said, `This is our team; this is our state championship.'”
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With 30 seconds left in Saturday’s title game, Parker walked off the court and out of high school basketball to a round of hugs from her coaches and teammates.
“It has been amazing to play with her,” senior guard Tiffany Hudson said. “She knows the game, and she not only helps us with basketball, but a lot of other things too.”
Nussbaum has called coaching Parker a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and while he hates to see it end, he realizes “it’s time for her to go.”
“She plays with a love of the game unparalleled with anyone I’ve seen,” Nussbaum said. “She loves to play.
“There will be a lot of people who buy tickets to see her play.”
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