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CANDACE PARKER NAMED STATE FARM WADE TROPHY PLAYER OF THE YEAR
March 31, 2007 CLEVELAND, Ohio - Twenty minutes after Candace Parker was named a Kodak All-American for the second straight year, the University of Tennessee sophomore sensation was honored as the State Farm Wade Trophy Player of the Year. She and Daedra Charles Furlow are the only two Lady Vols to be so named.
"I am incredibly honored," said Parker. "I want to thank my coaches, teammates and family, because if it weren't for them, I wouldn't be standing here today. I am so blessed."
Typically the award is given to an upperclassman, but Parker's dominance in the nation's toughest schedule gave the committee no choice but to give it to a sophomore for the first time in its 30-year history.
"Candace Parker has been one of the most-touted collegiate players on the hardwood this season," said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. "Candace is an exceptional representative for Lily Margaret Wade, the WBCA and The State Farm Wade Trophy, and we are pleased to present her with this well-deserved honor."
The Naperville, Ill., native is running out of room in the trophy case this season. So far, she has been named the SEC Player of the Year, a unanimous first team All-SEC selection, an SEC All-Academic selection, an ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American, the Dayton Regional Most Outstanding Player, an Associated Press first team All-American, a WBCA/Kodak All-American, a John R. Wooden All-American and a finalist for the Naismith Player of the Year and the Basketball Writer's Association Player of the Year. "Congratulations to State Farm Wade Trophy Player of the Year Candace Parker," said Mark D. Gibson, Assistant Vice President of Advertising at State Farm. "Her outstanding accomplishments as a student-athlete, on and off the court, make her truly deserving of this wonderful honor. We look forward to seeing Candace fulfill the rest of her basketball dreams." At 6'4", Parker is arguably the most versatile player in women's college basketball. She averages 19.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game and became the fastest player in school history to amass 1,000 career points.
The program's single-season blocks record holder leads the Big Orange into its 17th Final Four appearance with a 9:30 p.m. showdown with North Carolina on April 1.
Previous State Farm Wade Recipients:
2006 - Seimone Augustus, LSU
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