Perhaps no athlete in the history of Naperville Central has garnered as much attention for the school as Candace Parker. In fact, her popularity transcends the sporting world so much that most would simply know her as they would any other one-name star: Candace. Graduating from Naperville Central in 2004, those who had the privilege of seeing Candace play recall her time as a Redhawk with great fondness. Her legend began to grow, when as a sophomore, she became the first high school, female athlete to dunk in a game, recalling afterward, “The first two times I tried it, I failed; the third time was a charm and then cameras and reporters were everywhere […] everyone wanted to talk about dunking.” After leading the Redhawks to back-to-back state championships in 2003 & 2004, Candace was named the USA Today Player of the Year. Additionally, she is one of five back-to-back recipients of both the Naismith and Gatorade player of the year awards, a feat accomplished most recently by LeBron James. Candace continues to own the record book for the Lady Redhawks basketball team. She holds the school’s benchmarks as its all-time leading scorer (2,768 points), rebounder (1,592 rebounds), and the only women’s basketball player to be named to four consecutive first-team All-State teams. Those who remember the “Candace years” also count among their favorite memories watching Candace defeat all the male competitors to win the McDonald’s All-American slam dunk competition, as well as the 2004 senior prom when Candace arrived with Dwight Howard as her guest. Moving on to play collegiately for legendary coach Pat Summitt at the University of Tennessee, Candace returned from a medical redshirt season her freshman year to an exemplary sophomore campaign, ultimately leading the Volunteers to an NCAA championship in 2007 & 2008. At Tennessee, Candace’s intense level of play and commitment to both personal and team excellence grew. Carol Ross, former head coach of the University of Mississippi, noted, “She’s the toughest matchup in the game […] the best scorer on the floor. She’s got the strut of a competitor and the stuff of a champion.” This versatility and fierceness garnered her SEC Rookie of the Year honors, as well as later recognition as the two-time MVP of the Final Four & the two-time Collegiate Female John Wooden Player of the Year. She became the youngest member of the USA Women’s Senior National team in 2006, helping Team USA to a bronze medal in Brazil, where she set a new American record for blocks in a tournament while also leading the team in points. Accomplished in the classroom as well as on the court, Candace graduated in 2008 with a degree in Sports Management and a minor in Psychology and was named University Division Academic All-American of the Year in women’s basketball. The first overall pick of the 2008 WNBA draft, Candace scored 34 points in her debut for the Los Angeles Sparks on May 17, 2008. Sharing her time between the WNBA and Russia’s UMMC Ekaterinburg professional franchise in the Euroleague, Candace Parker has also emerged as a standout for USA Basketball, winning gold with Team USA at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing & 2012 Olympics in London. Candace is an inspiration to female athletes everywhere, successfully balancing the rigors of a professional athletic career with the demands of motherhood. She is married to former Duke University star Sheldon Williams, a nine-year NBA veteran who currently plays professionally in France. On May 13, 2009, Candace and Sheldon welcomed their daughter, Lailaa. After taking an eight-game maternity leave, Parker returned to the Sparks during the 2009 season to earn second-team all-WNBA honors, as well as a special distinction that made the new mom smile: the 2009 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice award as Favorite Female Athlete. For all of the individual awards and team championships she’s earned, those connected to her time at Naperville Central will remember Candace as so much more than an accomplished basketball player. As one of her former instructors notes, “Candace was as good a person and student as she was a basketball player. She was fun to watch on the court but even more impressive in the classroom. Her work was impeccable, she valued the contributions of all her classmates to the daily discussions, and when little girls lined up for autographs after a Tuesday night girls’ basketball game, Candace would stay on the floor until each and every one of them had had their moment with her. She personified what it meant to be a student-athlete at Naperville Central.”