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Former Lady Vol Candace Parker wins WNBA MVP, rookie of the year

Oct. 3, 2008

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Candace Parker received the WNBA's most valuable player award Friday, becoming the first player to win the award along with the rookie of the year honors. The Los Angeles star was unanimously selected rookie of the year.

The awards capped a big run for Parker, who was college player of the year last season for national champion Tennessee. Parker also was a member of the gold-medal winning U.S. team in the Beijing Olympics.

Parker edged Connecticut's Lindsay Whalen and Seattle's Sue Bird in the MVP race.

"You know, Coach (Michael) Cooper set this goal for me early on, and I looked at him like he was crazy," Parker said. "He's like, 'We're going to win the rookie of the year, and you're going to win a championship and you're going to win the MVP.' I just looked at him like, 'That's what you expect of me already?'"

Parker, the top overall draft pick this year, averaged 18.5 points and 9.5 rebounds. She had a high of 40 points and grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 17 games. She led the league in double-doubles with 17, led the league in rebounding and led rookies in scoring, blocks (2.3 bpg) and minutes (33.6 mpg).

In the playoffs, Los Angeles beat Seattle in the Western Conference semifinals before losing to San Antonio in the conference finals.

The all-rookie team, selected by league coaches, included Parker, Minnesota's Candice Wiggins and Nicky Anosike, Chicago's Sylvia Fowles, Houston's Matee Ajavon and Connecticut's Amber Holt. Ajavon and Holt tied for the fifth spot on the team.

Newest Coach Daedra Charles-Furlow

Daedra Charles-Furlow graduated with the University of Tennessee's class of 1991 with outstanding accomplishments as a student-athlete. She led the Lady Vols basketball team in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots in both 1990 and 1991 seasons. Even though the 6'3" center played only three seasons after redshirting her freshman year, she accomplished more than many players who had four seasons of playing time.

In her time, Charles-Furlow was the seventh-ranked career scorer with 1,495 points, was sixth in rebounding with 858 boards and second in blocked shots with 97 rejects in her college career. In 1991, Charles-Furlow was UT's nominee for the Woody Hayes Award as the nation's most outstanding Student-Athlete. She was a key contributor to the 1988-1989 NCAA Championship team. She was the first Tennessee or SEC player to receive the most prestigious award in women's collegiate basketball in 1991, the Margaret Wade Trophy.

Charles-Furlow was a KODAK All-American in both 1990 and 1991. Also in 1991, she was Southeastern Conference Woman Athlete of the Year and a member of the U.S. Basketball Writers' Association and Basketball Weekly's All-America Teams. In 1991, she was named to the All-Tournament teams at the NCAA Final Four, Mideast Regional and SEC Championships. She was awarded with the 1990-1991 NCAA Championship team's MVP, Coaches' Award, and Best Rebounder. When she graduated in August 1991, finishing in four years despite having been admitted as an NCAA proposition 48 student, she had a degree in child and family studies.

The Lady Vol standout was one of only five to have her number (32) retired, along with Holly Warlick, Bridgette Gordon, Chamique Holdsclaw, and Tamika Catchings.

After college, Charles-Furlow played basketball professionally overseas in Italy, Japan, Turkey and France from 1991-1996. In her first season after leaving UT, Charles-Furlow helped her Como, Italy, team to the Italian championship. Her second season of international play brought another team championship, this time for her Japanese squad. In her final international season, she helped her Turkey club to a league title before returning to the United States and was the eighth overall pick of the Los Angeles Sparks in the 1997 WNBA Elite Draft.

Chalres-Furlow was a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic team that won a bronze medal at the Barcelona Olympics, and a member of three U.S. National teams: 1989, 1992, and 1994.

Charles-Furlow began her coaching career where she attended high school, St. Martin dePorres High School, while she worked as a supervisor at Don Bosco Hall, Inc., for abused, neglected and delinquent juvenile males. From 2003 to 2006, Charles-Furlow was an assistant coach at the University of Detroit Mercy. While at UDM, she served as recruiting coordinator and academic counselor for the Titans, in addition to her coaching duties.

She spent the last two seasons as an assistant under Nell Fortner with Auburn University's women's basketball program. In 2007-08, Charles-Furlow helped lead the Tigers to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2004. She helped develop DeWanna Bonner into one of the most versatile players in the country, as Bonner could play four different positions. In 2007-08, Bonner earned honorable mention All-American by the WBCA and State Farm, as well as First Team All-SEC and AP First Team All-SEC.

In 2001, Charles-Furlow was one of nine inductees into the inaugural class of the Tennessee Lady Vol Athletic Hall of Fame. In June of 2007, she was among six inductees into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

On May 7, 2008, Lady Vol Head Coach Pat Summitt announced the hiring of Daedra Charles-Furlow as an assistant coach to fill the position left open by Nikki Caldwell.

Daedra Charles-Furlow is married to Anthony P. Furlow and has an eight-year-old son, Anthonee. In her free time, Charles-Furlow enjoys spending time with her family and elderly people. She continues to mentor young people and volunteer, character traits she developed during her playing career at Tennessee. She was also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha while a student-athlete at Tennessee.

DAEDRA CHARLES-FURLOW'S PLAYING AND COACHING RÉSUMÉ