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March 29, 2004
Candace Parker Makes History as First Woman to Win Slam Dunk Contest
Naperville, Illinois native completes five dunk attempts to defeat top male competitors

MIDWEST CITY, OK (Washington Post) -- In the most recent example of the evolution of female athletes, a high school girl did more than just compete against five of the best boys' high school basketball players in the nation in a slam dunk contest on Monday night. She defeated them. Candace Parker, a 6-foot-3 17-year-old from Naperville, Ill., beat a field of competitors that included at least two who could be playing in the National Basketball Association next season.

"I hope 10 years from now this isn't a big deal," said Parker, who will play at the University of Tennessee next season. "That would be my dream. That 10 years from now three or four girls enter the dunk contest and it's not a big deal. It's not like, 'Wow, she won.' I hope that happens."

Parker achieved her milestone with a final dunk attempt, a right-handed slam that she spiced up by covering her eyes with her left arm during her final few strides toward the basket. The crowd of 5,000 at the Carl Albert High gymnasium -- many of whom wore throwback jerseys and bopped to blaring hip-hop throughout the night -- cheered wildly as the ball ripped through the net. The dunk earned 79 out of a possible 80 points from eight judges. The only holdout was Barry Sanders, the former National Football League running back, who gave her a nine out of 10.

"I was pretty impressed," Sanders said. "She was very good."

Parker outdunked Josh Smith, a potential lottery pick in June's NBA draft, Darius Washington, a possible first-round pick, and J.R. Smith, a North Carolina-bound player considered the best high school dunker in the past decade. She benefited from the fact that the boys often attempted difficult dunks and missed, while Parker, who used a women's ball, which is slightly smaller than the men's, attempted somewhat safer dunks.

Two of her attempts, however, had touches of creativity: one in which she wrapped the ball around her waist before jumping, and the final one in which she briefly covered her eyes.

Parker's triumph came as part of festivities for the boys' McDonald's All American Game Wednesday night that includes as many as 12 players who could bypass college for the NBA draft. The players are ranked so highly that the game has been likened to an NBA tryout that will help determine draft positioning and salaries.

Parker's triumph was the latest in a series of significant steps for female athletes. In the past year, three women have competed in the men's Professional Golfers Association tour. Michelle Wie, 14, played in her first PGA Tour event in January, the Sony Open in Honolulu, missing the cut by one stroke and finishing ahead of 48 golfers. Several Washington area coaches said they could not recall a girl dunking during a game, but they hailed Parker's accomplishment as part of the evolution of the game. As girls have become stronger and faster through weightlifting and other training over the past 10 years, the game has begun to resemble the boys' in its up-tempo style, the coaches said. So, they say, it's not surprising that girls would dunk.

"It's a consistent measuring stick between boys' and girls' basketball," said Anne Renninger, the girls' coach at Sidwell Friends. "People have always said that girls are better shooters, but can't dunk... As we start to play the game in the air, there is no reason not get excited about it. Bottom line: It's definitely going to draw more people to the game."

But not everyone agrees that Parker's victory can springboard her sport to greater heights even with television ratings for the first round of the NCAA women's tournament this year up 50 percent from a year ago.

"For the women's game to grow and embrace a bigger fan base, one individual dunker is not going to bring in the droves," said Mike Flynn, a Philadelphia-based girls' traveling team coach and analyst who has followed the sport for more than 30 years. "When you see the sport full of Candace Parkers, then maybe you'll see a new base. The dunk is the last barrier."

Howard Garfinkel, a slam dunk competition judge and longtime boys' selection committee member, said he never thought he would see a woman win a slam dunk contest. "It means the women are getting better," said Garfinkel, one of the most respected talent evaluators over the past three decades. "I really enjoy watching the women play. They play like the men did in the 1950s and '60s -- backdoor passes, pick and rolls. In the men's game, there isn't much basketball being played. It's a lot of three-point shots. It's [a game of horse."

In 2002, Lisa Leslie became the first WNBA player to dunk in a game. The first woman to dunk in the college game was West Virginia's Georgeann Wells in 1984. North Carolina's Charlotte Smith dunked in 1994 and Tennessee's Michelle Snow dunked three times during her college career.

"By the nature of our bodies, women are behind," said Jennifer Azzi, one of the judges and a five-year WNBA veteran. "But we're catching up to where the men were, say, 30 years ago."

Parker's father, Larry Parker, played at Iowa and has coached her travel teams. Her mother, Sara Parker, said she only played "for fun" in high school because her Iowa high school team did not have a girls' team. Parker's brother, Anthony, starred at Bradley and played three years in the NBA and is playing professionally in Israel. Parker's other brother, Marcus, played high school basketball and now attends Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. During the summer of 2001, international teams inquired about signing Parker, who was playing on her travel team in France, while she still was in high school.
"If she went pro," Flynn said, "she'd probably be a millionaire by now."

By early summer 2003, Parker was converting one-handed reverse dunks. Then she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in July and missed the first 11 games of her senior season. Five weeks ago, her parents said, she could hardly get above the rim.

"She thought, well, I'm not going to ever dunk again," her mother said. Winning the dunk competition "is a big deal because of where she came from."

Parker said she never dreamed of beating boys in a slam dunk competition. She only hoped to make at least one dunk. Washington, a 6-2 Orlando guard who has committed to playing next year at Memphis, was one of the finalists in the dunk contest. Washington said he was not embarrassed about losing to a girl.

"It's a unique thing for a girl to dunk," he said. "Once in a blue moon. Congratulations. I'm kind of happy because she went down in history. There are men taller than her who can't dunk."

Parker sat beside Washington after the event when she said she first dunked at age 15. Washington, when asked when he first dunked, said: "She could dunk before me. I'm not going to say."

Scores of NBA scouts are expected to attend Wednesday's boys' game. At least 140 media members have been credentialed to watch several potential first-round NBA draft picks. And yet the person who has caused the biggest reverberations in the basketball world will be playing in the third annual girls' game Wednesday, which will be televised the following day on ESPN2. Parker was the first junior ever to win the Naismith player of the year award. This season she averaged 23 points and led Naperville Central High to its second straight Class 2A state title. She has not lost a game in which she played since her sophomore season. Throughout her senior season, Parker has written a newspaper column for the Daily Herald and the Chicago Tribune, concluding each one with "Peace, Love and Jumpshots."

Parker, when asked if she ever considered skipping college to play professionally, said: "There is a WNBA rule that you can't do that. So I will just leave it at that. . . . I want to go to Tennessee and I'm really excited about that." Added Sara Parker: "Being realistic, if the WNBA was going to offer her $10 million over three years, she'd look at it. And she'd pay for her education. But that's not an option and she is looking forward so much to playing in college." (Washington Post, 2004) For more information, please visit the official web site, www.McDonaldsAllAmerican.com.

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