June 2008 Archives

Montini guard Cootie Leeberg has committed to Southern Indiana. Leeberg was a senior for the Broncos this past season.

St. Charles North's Kelsey Smith, a 6-4 center who is regarded as one of the best prospects in Illinois and the nation, has committed to Michigan State. Smith averaged a double-double last season and made the Sun-Times all-area team.

The Sky game hasn't started yet, but I had the chance to talk to Candace Parker before she went on the floor for warmups.
Here's what she had to say:
On her popularity and that of the WNBA: "That's what I hoped for. I think there's an excitement now. We've raised the bar and we need to continue to do that."
On her best selling jersey at the NBA store in New York: "I've heard some of it, and I get happy and excited."
On being home in Chicago: "On our first day here (Sunday) we didn't have practice, so I went home to Naperville. There's a lot to do in a couple days. But there are specific people that I see."

Everyone knows what a great basketball player Candace Parker is, but did you also know she's engaged to Atlanta Hawk and former Duke player Shelden Williams? Parker told me in a phone conversation the other day that her and Williams' schedules are so busy right now that they're thinking of a wedding date in late 2009. She mentioned September '09 as a possibility.

When Candace Parker was a junior at Naperville Central, I took over the girls basketball beat. That season provided quite an introduction for me to the girls game and how it was changing. Parker was one such player who acted as a catalyst for that change, packing gyms wherever Naperville Central played and winning the first of two state titles. Her coach Andy Nussbaum always said that she would be one of the best players ever, and he was right.
On the eve of Parker’s return to Chicago as a professional, I was able to talk to WNBA president Donna Orender about the league’s plans for expansion and how Parker is sparking change in the WNBA.
Orender said she thinks Parker is so popular because she is a 6-4 player who can easily play all the positions on the floor, and she has a charisma that attracts fans.
Orender also mentioned that the league is perpetually looking to expand. She said in the next five years the WNBA could add two more teams. The league already added the Atlanta Dream this season.
Hotbeds for women’s professional basketball according to Orender? The Southeast, Southwest, West and Midwest.
Back to Parker: Sky representatives say ticket sales are very brisk for Tuesday night’s game with the L.A. Sparks at the UIC Pavilion. If you want to see Parker in her only game in Chicago, get your tickets ASAP.