Former Tennessee Lady Vol Candace Parker announced her retirement from the WNBA over the weekend. Parker, who led Coach Pat Summitt's Lady Vols to back to back NCAA Championships in 2007 and 2008, was also a three time WNBA champion as well as a two time WNBA Most Valuable Player. There is no doubt she is one of the very best if not the best women's players ever. Back when it was uncommon for women to leave school early for the pro draft, Candace left following her junior season at Tennessee and was chosen number one in the WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2008.
Before turning pro, Parker became the first woman to ever dunk in a college basketball game, then became the first woman to ever do it twice in one game.
While at Tennessee she was a two time consensus National Player of the Year and a two time All American but as impressive as her college career at Tennessee was, her 16 years in the WNBA was even more so. She spent 13 seasons with the Sparks, then two years with the Chicago Sky and her final season with the Las Vegas Aces. She won WNBA titles with all three teams. She was also a two time WNBA Most Valuable Player as well as the league's Rookie of the Year. The list of all her accomplishments is too long to mention...she's been that good for that long. But now at the age of 38, Candace Parker has decided to hang up her sneakers.
She has most recently made a name for herself as a basketball analyst for ESPN and for NBA broadcasts and men's NCAA Tournament broadcasts as well. But what makes Candace Parker so special is the fact that she is still a Lady Vol and will be forever. The relationship she had with Coach Pat Summitt was extremely strong, much as Coach Summitt's relationships were with all her players. When Candace won her third WNBA title, she said, "This is for Pat."
In her email to her fans informing them of her retirement, she said, "My mission in life, like Pat Summitt always said, is to 'chase people and passions and you will never fail.' Being a wife and mom still remains priority #1 and I've learned that time flies so I intend to enjoy my family to the fullest."
Candace Parker is the last remaining link to the tremendous Pat Summitt era of Tennessee women's basketball. No matter who coaches for the Lady Vols, things will never be the same. Just as there will never be another Pat Summitt, there will never be another Candace Parker...and that's the way it should be.
* * *
Randy Smith can be reached at rsmithsports@epbfi.com.