The two best high school girls basketball teams in the state, Naperville Central and Fenwick, were playing for the title in Illinois’ best holiday tournament Monday night.
But Naperville Central’s Candace Parker was not at her best.
“I was missing some easy shots, and I thought I was letting the team down,” said Parker, who had made less than a third of her shots. “And I apologized to my team.”
No apology necessary from the player considered by many the nation’s No. 1 junior and the reigning Ms. Basketball of Illinois, whose full-court dash with a rebound in the last six seconds of regulation resulted in the tying layup and helped lift Naperville Central to an overtime victory.
Maybe it was because of those simple two points registered with 0:00 showing on the clock in Dundee-Crown’s new gym. Maybe it was because she came up with a career-high 42 points a few nights earlier against the unbeaten host team in its 20th annual Charger Classic. Maybe it’s because she and her teammates are having a ball.
Whatever the reason, Candace Parker was a unanimous choice as the Chicago Tribune/WGN-Ch. 9 Athlete of the Month for December, beating out Hales Franciscan’s Nate Minnoy, who led his team to the Rich South Big Dipper holiday tournament title; Loyola’s Colin Falls, who averaged 29 points a game with a 51-point effort against Prospect; and Naperville North wrestler Eric Tannenbaum, who went undefeated in the month and won two tournaments.
Winning this award once is difficult. More than once is unusual, and Parker is one of the few Chicago-area athletes to have done it. She was a slam-dunk choice for December 2001 after becoming the first Illinois girl to dunk in a game.
She missed a dunk attempt during the Dundee-Crown tournament this time, but her presence on the court had the same effect. She has led Naperville Central to its first Dundee-Crown title, a 14-0 start and No. 1 ranking. The 6-foot-3-inch Parker averaged 25.6 points and 13 rebounds a game as the Redhawks went 9-0 in December.
She now has 1,688 career points–Parker broke the Naperville Central record as a sophomore–and 2,000 is well within reach this season.
The 16-year-old Parker is the No. 1 target of college recruiters too. Her mother, Sara, said her daughter receives mail, courier packages and e-mails from coaches every day. Even handwritten notes.
It’s no wonder that coaches like Doug Bruno of DePaul, which remains in the picture along with programs like Tennessee’s and Connecticut’s, make sure they’re seen by her at games. When USA Today named its top 15 high school girls players for the 2001-02 season, Parker was the only sophomore honored.
She has made an impact internationally too. Parker led the Philadelphia Belles Select AAU team to the title of the 13th annual Reze International Cadet Tournament in France last summer.
Her most impressive game came against the Russian national team when she scored 34 points and grabbed 20 rebounds. And she was tournament MVP.
Since her freshman year, Naperville Central’s record is 66-11. Coach Andy Nussbaum’s career record hasn’t suffered either. He is now two victories away from the 300 mark at 298-133.
But for all she’s accomplished on the court, it’s how she acts off the court that impresses her teammates so much.
“There’s a lot more to her than just basketball,” senior Courtney Peters said. “She’s just a really nice person. And she never shuts up. She can talk to anyone.”
Peters, who is in the top 5 percent academically of the senior class, was a bit concerned when she learned what kind of an athlete would be enrolling at Naperville Central.
“[Parker] was also coming in to play volleyball and I was actually kind of worried,” said Peters, who had hoped to make the varsity as a sophomore.
But it turned out both made the varsity basketball team.
“So it was OK,” Peters said.
Rachel Crissy has been friends with Candace since 6th grade at Lincoln Junior High in Naperville and may be the teammate who knows her best.
“She’s always nice. I don’t think that will ever change,” Crissy said. “She’s always there for you.
“And you could say that we are sisters in a way. I tell her a lot of things I don’t tell most people. And she tells me a lot of things.”
Naperville Central’s coach thinks that “this year more than any other year we’ve been able to talk one-on-one about things like her goals.”
“She’s a great friend,” Nussbaum said. “After one game, Christian [Nussbaum’s 4-year-old son] was upset. Candace went over to pick him up, and that was the end of him crying.”
Fellow junior Tiffany Hudson is amazed that Parker can stay at peace with all the hype that follows her.
“She’s one of the calmest people I know,” said Hudson, who transferred from Oak Park last year. “She’s got a very good attitude. That’s what makes her a good person.
“And she doesn’t let anything go to her head.”
Listening to Hudson would make one think that it’s just one big love-in this season playing under an intense spotlight that accompanies one of the nation’s top teams.
“She’s a good friend. When people need her, she’s there,” she said of Parker, who is also her teammate on the Jaguars–the AAU team put together by Candace’s father, Larry. “We have pasta parties and there’s a lot of team bonding before a game.”
There’s the mall, the movies and even a concert at Allstate Arena to see the rapper who stars in the movie “Like Mike”–Lil Bow Wow.
But don’t call him “little” around Candace, a huge fan of his music.
“She gets upset if you call him `Lil Bow Wow,'” Peters said.
And you can’t call Parker’s accomplishments “little” either.
Dunk or no dunk, she’s still big stuff.
Candace Parker’s December
The Naperville Central junior averaged 25.6 points in December as her team went 9-0, winning by an average of 26.8 points a game. The Redhawks beat then-No. 1 Fenwick for the Dundee-Crown holiday tournament title to take over the top ranking.
DATE OPPONENT RESULT PARKER’S STATISTICS
Dec. 5 Hinsdale Central W 51-24 28 points, 10 rebounds,
3 assists
Dec. 7 Waubonsie Valley W 68-40 22 points, 9 rebounds
Dec. 12 Glenbard East W 62-31 22 points, 15 rebounds
Dec. 14 West Aurora W 81-48 34 points, 17 rebounds,
6 assists, 3 steals
Dec. 19 Wheaton W. South W 70-32 22 points in only three
quarters
Dec. 26 Belvidere W 74-31 25 points, 15 rebounds,
4 blocks, 3 steals
Dec. 27 No. 15 Dundee-Crown W 68-52 42 points*, 21 rebounds,
6 blocks
Dec. 28 Fremd W 57-39 13 points, 13 rebounds,
4 blocks
Dec. 30 No. 1 Fenwick W 55-48 (OT) 22 pts., 16 rebounds, 6 blocks,
2 steals, 4 assists
*-career high and school record
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