Better late than never for Parker as Vols rout DePaul

She was late to her own party.

But "Candace Parker Nation" (oh, and there does seem to be a Candace Parker Nation, by the way) didn't seem to care.

Fans of the former Naperville Central star turned women's basketball icon were scattered throughout DePaul's sold-out 3,000-seat McGrath Arena on Wednesday night for her homecoming.

And they cheered loudly when she finally took the floor in the second half.

Parker was forced to sit on the bench for the entire first half of Tennessee's crushing 102-68 victory over DePaul because she violated a team rule by being late for curfew on New Year's Eve.

"I apologize to my teammates and my coaches and Chicago in general for not being able to play the first half," Parker said in front of a packed media room after the game. "Obviously, coach (Pat Summitt) is very strict with discipline, and I broke the rule."

If Parker was out catching up with family members and friends, it's no wonder she was late.

Parker estimated before the game that she'd have about 60 loved ones in the stands.

Beyond that, it's anyone's guess as to how many more Parker admirers there were. Let's just say there were a bunch.

There were kids sitting behind the Tennessee bench wearing Candace Parker No. 3 jerseys. There were even Parker fans sitting behind the DePaul bench, one of whom was holding a sign that read, "CP3 would look good in (Chicago) Sky blue."

When Parker's mother, Sara, walked through the lobby before the game with a special orange T-shirt that read "Mama 3" on the back and had a picture of a 3-year-old Candace on the front dribbling a ball, she seemed more politician than proud mom.

People just wanted to shake her hand.

"Look, it's Candace's mom," they'd say.

Even Parker's grandmother, Joan Potter, couldn't go incognito in the stands. She was surrounded by well-wishers and did an interview with ESPNU before the game.

Parker was hoping she'd have both of her grandmothers in the stands, but her maternal grandmother, Shirley Montgomery, who has yet to see her play a college game in person, fell ill with bronchitis and couldn't make it.

"She's always asking all of us to come to her games," said the 73-year-old Potter, who lives in Huntley. "She really loves showing everyone what she can do."

And Parker did a lot against DePaul -- even in just 19 minutes of action.

She scored 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting and had several acrobatic moves around the basket that even the guys who playfully taunted her from the DePaul student section appreciated.

It all made Potter proud. She's seen her granddaughter come a long way.

"I always knew she had it in her to be really good and whatever she did, but I never thought it would be basketball," Potter said. "When she was really young, it wasn't really basketball that much with her. It was more animals and pets. She really wanted to be a veterinarian.

"She also loved to dress up. I had boys and then her two (older) brothers came along, and then came Candace and we were all so excited to have a girl. I'd buy her all the frilly outfits for her birthday and she used to love to play dress-up."

Yep, Parker was a full-fledged girly-girl when she was little.

"I loved it that she was like that when she was little, but I love her now, too," Potter said. "She has gone from a great girl to a wonderful woman. I think she's handled all of this stuff really well."