HighSchoolElite.com's Player Journals- Parker 3

Frank's notes:
There is nothing Naperville Central All-American Candace Parker enjoys more than when her older brothers - Anthony and Marcus - come home to visit. And when this family affair turns to the playground, things can get kind of ugly with the Parker family. Anthony is playing basketball overseas after finishing up a stellar career at Bradley (1993-97) and a brief stint in the NBA. A 6'6" guard, he is eighth on BU's all-time scoring charts (1,683 points, 15 ppg). He was the Missouri Valley Player of the Year in 1996 and a two-time All-MVC performer. Marcus, a medical student at John Hopkins in Baltimore studying radiology, is no slouch on the court either. And this family inherits genes from a dad, Larry, who played for Iowa. Now this is a family where the basketball runs in the blood.

I cannot believe it is already July. I have been taking it easy since I last wrote a PJ. You know how it is; waking up at noon, going to bed well after 2 p.m., ballin’ and just relaxing.

Candace Parker, Naperville Central's 6'5" All-American, enjoyed her Fourth of July with her family.

I did absolutely nothing the week after I wrote my last PJ, except I did have a summer league game on Wednesday. Naperville Central played Marian Catholic and Main West. We only had four people show up to the game so we were a little short, but we borrowed some players and played. Marian Catholic played a great game, but we came out with the win. I feel overall I played pretty well, but I definitely need to play tougher “D” and continue to play hard the whole game. My shot felt pretty good that day and my 3’s were falling. The next game I do not even want to talk about. We played Maine West and ended up losing. They just seemed to want it more then we did. Our rising sophomore Lauren Grochowski played one of the best games I have seen her play. I am really excited about having her on the team next year. She is definitely going to help us on our journey next season. Lauren carried us, and I am thankful for that because without her the game could have been really nasty.

This past week I baby-sat everyday from 9-5. The names of the two little girls I watched are Whitney and Hailey. They are 9 and 10. We had so much fun and I really enjoyed hanging out with them. I, being the great sitter that I am, took them to the park, swimming, to play basketball, and to Portillos. This was a great opportunity because I made great money and had fun in the process.

On Tuesday, my brother and his family came in to visit for the fourth. Anthony and his wife Tami had a little boy back in October named Alonso. My brother played overseas this past year in Italy so I have not seen him or his family since October. My nephew Alonso is now 8 months old and is as cute as ever. He just recently learned how to crawl, but I did not see him do it much because he was always being held (I am guilty of spoiling him).

Over the next week my other brother, his fiancé, and my grandma came in town for the fourth. My brother, Marcus, does not get to come home very often because he is a medical student at John Hopkins. Marcus and his fiancé, Glenda, are getting married next June. She also is in medical school. It was a blast having my family home for the fourth. We did a number of things; went to the movies, dinner, played ball and just talked. I really miss having my brothers at home, so I was really glad they came and stayed for a while.

On July 4th we had a huge barbecue and invited a lot of people over to just eat and hang out. Of course Alonso was the main event and nobody could pass by his smile and happy attitude. My dad cooked his famous ribs and my mom threw down with her great baked beans and green beans. We capped the day off with some fireworks.

On Saturday, my brothers and I headed over to the court at this park near our house. We played a few games of 32 and one-on-one. We had a blast! I had so much fun talking junk and goofing off. My brother Anthony of course won both games of 32, but not without a struggle from Marcus and I. I wish they could live here all the time because I learn so much each time I play with them. That night three guys had the audacity to challenge us in 3-3. I swear man, we were running the Sacramento King’s offense against those three guys: back cuts, oops, and the pick and roll. We beat them all three games and I think they had a total of five points combined. My brother Anthony dunked over this dude so nasty that the people on the baseball courts went crazy. I love going to the courts and playing because the guys there do not think girls can play, but by the end I’m picked for teams first.

Well, that’s really all. The relaxing part of my summer is practically over. I start traveling a lot over the next month. Until next time, I will holla at you lata.

PLJ
CP#32