She's being called the best women's basketball player in the state, nation, and world.  And the best part is-- she doesn't even know it.  The University of Tennessee's Candace Parker is a 6 foot 4 phenom from Naperville, Ill. who would be the last to tell you of her achievements, and the first to tell you what she needs to perfect.  

Parker won an NCAA national title in 2007, the 2004 McDonald's High School All-American Dunk Contest, 9 SEC Player of the Week Awards, 2007 SEC Player of the Year and countless other awards. But she still finds ways to stay motivated, "I think everyday is a new challenge, you have to set challenges and goals for yourself in order to stay ahead of everybody else.  You have to be hungry everyday to always be the best because when you're on the best team and you're with all the best players, everyone wants to come at you."

Everyone does indeed want to come at Parker, even the women's Team USA Olympic squad.  She was the only collegiate player selected to play for the team in the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women, an Olympic qualifier tournament.  Parker says playing with the legends of women's basketball such as Tina Thompson and Diana Taurasi was quite the thrill ride, "Team USA was a great experience for me, I think just playing with and against the best in the world really allowed me to see where my game was and where I want my game to be, and it just was a great experience," Parker said. 

Playing with the savvy veterans on the Olympic squad also exposed some of Parker's weaknesses.  Parker said she needs to, "improve on the defensive end and also just staying aggressive and not being complacent," she adds, "when we play lesser opponents I don't do as well because I lose focus.  I think it's just maintaining [focus] and being hungry on every possession against whoever steps out on the court."

Last year after the national title win, Parker was eligible to enter into the WNBA draft.  Experts said she would have undoubtedly been picked 1st.  She would have received multi-million dollar endorsement deals, shoe contracts, and a plethora of other money raking opportunities.  But Parker was more interested in pursuing her opportunities at UT, "I don't think I was ready to leave, and ready to be in the real world.  I mean, Tennessee is great and the support that we have here is phenomenal and I just felt like I needed another year under my belt in order for me to be okay with moving on, because college is some of the best years of your life."

According to Parker, this season still has big things in store.  She says this year's team is young but still peaking, "I think we're definitely a lot younger but I think we're still trying to find ourselves right now," she said, "We haven't peaked, and I think that's what is so special about this team is that...our freshmen are stepping in and constantly playing bigger roles."

Parker knows how to play several roles.  In fact, she is one of the best actors on the court.  She can play the role of an elbow-throwing, rebound-grabbing center, or the smooth jump-shooter with effortless finesse and touch.  However, she does have a favorite role, "I think the 4," Parker conitinues, "you run your offense through your 4," and because, "usually they can play the high post, they can play on the block, they're involved in the high-low, they can play the trail in transition so I think that it's the most versatile position."

Parker credits her family with her ability to succeed, "My overall mentors are definitely my brothers [and] my parents."  She adds, "That's one thing that we've always been taught, that you keep a close circle, and in that circle you have people that you can love and trust and tell things to, and...that's my family.  They will always be there and I'll always be there for them and that's how we've always grown up."

Perhaps the best part about Parker's career at Tennessee is that it is not over.  The Lady Vols are currently 16-1 and ranked 2nd in the nation, easily a top seed for the upcoming NCAA tournament.  March could bring another Player of the Year award for Parker, and an 8th national championship banner for Pat Summitt and the Lady Vols.

For more information on Parker, check out her player bio on the official Lady Vols website.  Parker's dunking ability can be seen on YouTube along with several other videos of her dunking in games and practices.