Sometimes I trip on how

Happy we could be

And so I put this on my life

Nobody or nothing

Will ever come between us

And I promise I’ll give my life

— “03 Bonnie & Clyde,” Jay Z

THE WEDDING. Popular Lady Vol Candace Parker won’t be walking down the aisle with her pro basketball player beau this summer as originally announced — but she says not to read too much into that.

The superstar junior and her intended, Atlanta Hawks center Shelden Williams, are putting off their wedding until 2009, after what would be her senior year.

Of course, this is assuming Candy will stick with the University of Tennessee next year and not go pro.

“Our schedules are just too crazy,” Candy told the Insider during a chat this week. “We just decided it was too stress-ful to plan a wedding, with me being here and (trying) to have (the wedding) be everything we want it to be.

“ … It’s hard to plan something that’s once-in-a-lifetime between everything we’re both doing.”

As for her future plans, all the girl is saying these days is that she’s getting married.

Other than that — like perhaps a leap to the pros — Candy is being coy. Insiders say she’s all but decided to go pro next year. But that’s just unofficial talk for now.

She has yet to say anything on the record.

Ask her about her recent half-game suspension, a result of missing a team curfew while in Chicago, and she won’t say much, either. However, the media headlines it created are something she will address candidly.

“Anything I do is going to be magnified,” she says. “Would it have been blown up if anybody else had done it? Probably not.

“I kind of carry that responsibility. I kind of knew it was going to be a big deal.”

Candy doesn’t make excuses, but she does add this: “If (anyone) can look me in the eye and tell me they’ve never missed curfew or never been a few minutes late, I will give them all the respect. … It happens to everyone.”

A superstar at UT, juggling a class load and maintaining a long-distance relationship, Candy is one busy girl. However, she finds time to do it all.

She says she and Shelden try to see each other once a week. She either goes to see him or he comes here. Basketball doesn’t dominate their conversations.

“Obviously, basketball is a big part of our lives,” she says, “… but it’s not something we dwell on.”

They met when she was visiting Duke, where Shelden used to play. “We started talking,” she says.

As for who asked whom out first, she says, “it wasn’t your typical thing like that.”

She says he made contact first, and they started talking on the phone. Then they began making plans to go out. And be-fore you know it — bam! — they’re a couple.

There’s no missing the huge engagement ring on her hand.

She and Shelden spent Christmas together in Atlanta. Her mom joined her there.

Candy asked Santa for a North Face jacket and received four of them. She’s also “really into sunglasses” and got a few pair.

When she isn’t traveling or studying, Candy likes listening to Jay Z CDs, renting movies and going to the Wynnsong theater.

She recently saw “I Am Legend” with Will Smith there. Despite her tough image as a formidable athlete, Candy says she teared up during the flick.

Candy is majoring in sports management and business, but her long-term career goal is to be a sports broadcaster.

And, of course, she’s planning on being a wife, too. Does that prospect cause her to be anxious?

“Nope,” she says, “I’m fine. No nerves.”

WORDS TO LIVE BY. “To be honest, I am taking it one day at a time. Obviously, I want basketball in my future.” — Can-dace Parker about what she plans to do next year

Terry Morrow may be reached at morrow2@knews.com or 865-342-6445.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.