Adams: From Nerf ball to college superstar

Candace Parker's highlight video was already full before she played her last game at Thompson-Boling on Thursday night.

So the Tennessee crowd didn't rise in awe when the two-time All-American produced one more highlight midway through the second half of UT's 88-61 victory over the Florida Gators.

Parker blocked Sha Brooks' shot, took the ball in midair, and dribbled it up court as deftly as any point guard in women's basketball. She then looked one way, and threw the other- to a wide-open Angie Bjorklund for a layup.

Like everyone else in the arena, Larry Parker saw how easy the 6-foot-5 No. 1-draft-pick-to-be made it look. But he also saw something else.

He saw the work behind it.

Candace's father handed her a Nerf ball when she was 1 1/2 years old. He began coaching her in organized basketball when she was 5 and coached her all the way to Naperville (Ill.) Central High School, where she became a two-time national player of the year.

So he wasn't just a proud father celebrating senior night with the rest of the player families. He was the former coach, too.

"When she was coming down the court and passed the ball to Bjorklund for a layup, that's what she did in AAU ball when she was 12 years old," Parker's father said.

Certainly, hers was an optimum situation for a budding women's basketball player. She had the genes (her father played at the University of Iowa and her brother, Anthony, still plays for the Toronto Raptors); she had the coaching at a very early age; and she had the height (23 inches at birth, her dad pointed out).

She also had something else that often gets overlooked. She had the work ethic.

When you watch her play the game, you think "easy," not "effort."

"She's deceiving like that," UT assistant coach Dean Lockwood said. "The two years, I was here on the men's side (at UT), Allan Houston was like that. I remember thinking, 'Gosh, Allan, play harder,' especially on defense.

"Players like that who are very talented tend to do things effortlessly. They present the image, they're not working all the time."

Did Houston take plays off on defense? Sure. And so has Parker.

"That's something she has had to address," Lockwood said. "She is somebody who is willing to spend time working at her game. This kid values improvement. For that reason, I have tremendous respect for her."

Parker learned the value of improvement almost as soon as she picked up her first Nerf ball. She also learned that the game should be played with two hands.

Her father emphasized the importance of becoming proficient with her left hand. She didn't always need a basketball to practice that.

"For years, we played the game of eating with your left hand," Larry Parker said.

And how did a 9-year-old respond?

"It depended on how hungry she was," he said with a smile.

You couldn't tell the difference in Parker's left or right hand in the opening minutes of Thursday's game. She scored her first and third field goals with her left hand, and her second and fourth baskets with her right.

She was on her way to an 18-point, six-rebound, four-assist performance in only 22 minutes. Did I mention she made it look easy?

Even her dunks - she has had seven in her college career - have lost their shock value. But Lockwood hasn't forgotten how astounding her talent could be.

The play he remembers best came in practice during his second year as a Lady Vols assistant. Following an entry pass to the post, Parker made a baseline cut to the basket. Lockwood, who was standing right behind the baseline, wasn't ready for what happened next.

"She took a bounce pass, then in one move, 'boom,' she was on the rim," Lockwood said. "I saw how quickly she got off the floor. It was reminiscent of coaching some guys."

He was surprised by her next move, too.

"She just dunked it and went back to her spot on the floor," he said.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.