Competitive on the court, Candace is compassionate off it

She's only 23, but Candace Parker has been a basketball star for more than a decade.

Yet those who know her best say she's still the same friendly, hardworking Midwestern girl she was when she was growing up in Naperville.

"Other players could be cocky and mean and immature, but she's not. She's really sweet and - she hasn't really changed that much since we were little," said Los Angeles Sparks teammate Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton. "You grow up and mature, but she's got the same type of funny personality I knew back in middle school."

Before becoming professional teammates, Candace and Wisdom-Hylton grew up together playing on the same AAU team and then for rival teams while in high school. Candace attended Naperville Central while Wisdom-Hylton became a star in her own right at Neuqua Valley.

Candace was a standout from a young age. Larry Parker still fondly remembers his daughter entering a children's dunk contest at a summer festival when she was about 8. She went on to win it, beating all the boys.

A decade later she did the same in the McDonald's High School All-American Slam Dunk Competition.

"She always stayed hungry," Larry said. "You didn't have to make her practice, didn't have to make her work on her game. She always pushed herself."

Though Parker grew up loving soccer, too, basketball is in her blood. Her brother Anthony now plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Larry once played for the University of Iowa.

Candace began attracting national attention as a preteen while playing in AAU tournaments, and shortly after began playing in international competitions as well.

Like Wisdom-Hylton, Candace's close friend Laura Langert played on the same team with the star as a youngster but against her in high school when Langert attended Benet Academy in Lisle.

Langert said their teams' rivalry never got in the way of their friendship. The two faced off in a tournament freshman year and in the middle of a game players were lining up for a free throw attempt. Candace leaned over and asked Langert if she wanted to have a sleepover that night.

At 15, Candace became the first female basketball player in Illinois to dunk during a high school game and the youngest in the nation to do so.

After that, Langert recalls even typical trips to the mall would sometimes turn into impromptu autograph sessions as more and more people started to recognize her 6-foot-3 friend. Candace would always oblige.

"She was always graceful and always sweet to everyone, and all the little girls loved her and she was a good role model," Langert said.

Those who have coached Candace say while she is competitive in nature, her integrity and kindheartedness carries over to the court as well.

Longtime Naperville Central girls basketball coach Andy Nussbaum has dozens of stories about Candace, who led the team to back-to-back state championships in 2003 and 2004, but many don't even involve her athletic prowess.

He recalls a game in which Central was dominating so he took her out to avoid running up the score. Instead of relaxing on the bench, his star player started pouring cups of water for her teammates.

Yet another time, an assistant coach caught Candace looking at the score book late in the game and became angry. Then Candace told him she was just looking to see who hadn't scored yet so she could get that teammate the ball.

"A lot of times the best player isn't worth all the trouble because of the baggage they bring, but this is 180 degrees opposite of that," Nussbaum said. "I could not think of anything in high school as far as team attitude that Candace could have done better."

He credits her parents, Larry and Sara, for being positive authority figures.

In late 2003, Candace announced on national television she would attend the University of Tennessee, pleasing legendary coach Pat Summitt who had been scouting her since junior high.

Summitt says it wasn't just Candace's talent but her passion for the game that made her stand out.

Mirroring her high school days, Candace helped Tennessee bring home two consecutive NCAA titles. She also became the first female to dunk in an NCAA tournament game and the first female college player to dunk twice in one game.

If you ask Sara to tell a story about her daughter she may tell you her favorite memory of the priceless look on Candace's face during her junior year at Naperville Central when she realized her team was about to win the state championship.

She may also tell you a story that doesn't take place on the court but in an IHOP in Tennessee.

While eating there during college, Candace noticed a family with extremely well-behaved children. Impressed, she made a point of stopping at their table to pay them a compliment. While chatting with the family she learned they were huge fans of the Lady Vols and had made the trip from Missouri just to see them play for the first time. They had noticed Candace in the restaurant but didn't want to disturb her.

Candace asked the family to be her guest and also set up a tour of the facility. They've also become lifelong friends.

"She's funny, she's animated, she's caring, she's competitive," Sara says describing her daughter. "Probably - her most exciting characteristic of her personality is she cares."

Since college, Candace has continued to wow coaches, teammates and fans. She was chosen as the number one WNBA draft pick in 2008 and now plays for the Los Angeles Sparks, where she has already earned both Rookie of the Year and MVP honors.

She also achieved a childhood dream last year of not only making it to the Olympics but bringing home a gold medal from Beijing.

But Candace says she is always setting additional goals for herself and next on the list is a WNBA championship.

"Candace Parker is truly a remarkable and special talent," Olympic coach Anne Donovan said. "Her versatility and ability to play multiple positions on the floor is rare at the skill level she performs at. There has not been a more complete player in our game at Candace's size and with her skill set."

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