It just feels right that Candace Parker is now a WNBA Champion. The 1 st overall pick of the 2008 draft entered the league with expectations never bestowed upon a rookie coming out of any college. Only fitting as Parker was a talent the league had never seen before. There had never been a player with the size coupled with the athleticism. At Tennessee she was listed as a center, guard, and forward. A transcendent talent that won at every level. Two-time National Player of the Year. Naismith Awards, repeat championships for the Lady Vols. Olympic Gold Medals. Titles in Russia with her club Ekaterinburg. For Parker, the year 2016 was up and down. For reasons still unknown, she was not selected to the USA Basketball roster for the Rio Olympics. For whatever reason – none of them possibly good, the greatest forward in basketball wasn’t playing for a team whom she was a leader for the past two Olympic games. A month into season, Parker’s college coach at Tennessee Pat Summi
I use social media as my diary. Instagram as a visual, Twitter as shorthand, and this forum as a written showcase. Out of the three, this is the more challenging, but more rewarding. I have no formal training as a writer, which should be obvious. This is simply a journey of how well I can progress navigating my thoughts to written word. I make no promises. (IG @marcus_jiles / Twitter @marcusjiles)